Operation Code
by Death101- Fox Version
Summary: AU Four teens joined Underworld, a detective agency, with a common goal in mind. Find three girls who have been missing for years and destory the Black Book Club and Demon World. While they work to meet their goals, another team works to destory them. Rated PG-13 on safe side. PG on slack side.
1. Chapter 0

**A/N: I was bored and wanted a challenge so I started this. Basically the challenge is grab a dictionary and pick a random word for each chapter. Then write a short drabble using the word. Each chapter you add 100 words. So chapter 1 would be 100. Chapter 2 200. Etc. And you have to write a continuous story with them. Operation Code is the result and the prologue does not follow the above rules because it was created before the challenge. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. **

Disclaimer: I only own the plot and my OC's at this point.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Operation Code<span>  
>Prologue<strong>

From: Kokami

To: Team Reiki

Subject: Mission Request

Three girls have been missing for many years and Underworld has reason to suspect that the Demon World and the Black Book Club are involved. It is only now that the government has allowed us to act, and they will not hesitate to close the case. Your mission, should you chose to accept it (AND YOU'D BETTER!), is to find the girls and remove them from their capturers if possible as soon as possible. Their names are Sumire Akiyama, Yukina Fuyu, and Keiko Yukimura. See file #345 for more information.

Good luck, Team Reiki

* * *

><p>From: C.E.O<p>

To: Team Zhu

Subject: Mission

Agent Seth, Loki, Hercules, and Jimmu are becoming a problem. Deal with the problem.


	2. Chapter 1

**Operation Code**  
><strong>Chapter 1-100<strong>

As Kokami sat back in his chair, he couldn't help but glare at the papers on his desk. That last battle had been too close and, although his agents were well trained, the Black Book Club had nearly won. It was only thanks to Fox's quick thinking and 45 using a live wire to electrocute the bastards that Team Reiki had won the battle. Was he being too hasty sending them out again after three days of rest? They had been waiting years for this mission. But perhaps they should wait a little longer. He nodded. Yes. They should wait.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2-200**

When Shinigami had shown up, 45 was ready for a little action. His bank account was becoming a little slim due to his healthy lifestyle of partying. Also, earlier that day a client came in who was in desperate need of an attitude adjustment. Unfortunately, 45 told her that and lost the case before he had it. So that meant his daily rush wasn't going to be coming from busting up a drug house. After all that would only be giving the old hag what she wanted** for** **free**.

So when the blue haired, rose-eyed beauty walked into his office with a small envelope in her hands, he was very happy to take it. Written in bold, pink ink was the word hex, meaning something that he had learn back at HQ before quickly forgetting while out in the field. He was about to open it when the woman told him to wait for the rest of the team. She left the room soon afterwards. No doubt to deliver the news to the other members.

For half a minute, 45 tried to ignore the little note. Then a smile appeared on his face. What Shinigami didn't know wouldn't hurt her.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3-300**

"...And so the lowest common denominator is π (pi)."

Fox struggled listen but he couldn't stop a small yawn from escaping. He had been up until three trying to solve the riddle that the team had found on their latest Black Book Club mission. The papers had been on their way to the shredder before they were scheduled to be burned. The keyword was "Had." Fox had rescued them. Although Underworld didn't need to know that.

Around midnight, he thought he had made a major breakthrough while he was trying to decode the papers. It wasn't until three that he realized that he had the code all wrong and gave up. There had to be some form of a clue in the papers, he reasoned. Otherwise the Club wouldn't have been trying to destroy them. The most he had managed to decode was that it was some sort of list for chemicals used to stimulate specific sections of the brain. Then the code changed and he gave up before he solved any more.

As the teacher continued to talk, Fox yawned again. Thankfully, his first class was math, something that his... other half excelled at. Although he would never willingly let him out, the idea was reassuring enough that he didn't worry about his lack of sleep affecting his grades. It also helped that he had read over the day's lesson a week prior as a precaution if a mission appeared. Finally, he had a free period before lunch so he could study then.

"Mr. Minamino."

Fox focused on the teacher once more. However, the teacher was pointing at the window.

"Isn't that your friend?" the teacher asked.

With a frown, Fox looked over to see 45. He sighed. It looked like he wasn't going to be studying anytime soon.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4-400**

Spirit arrived last at 45's office so he wasn't surprised to see everyone already in their favourite 'seats.' Fox was leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Light from the window created shadows over his face and made his black hair even darker. However, it was obviously which personality was in control when his eyes opened and purple orbs watched Spirit enter the room. 45 was sitting at his desk with his feet up. In his mouth was a lit cigarette and his black hair was glowing green with gel. Behind him was a bulletin board filled with clipping that proved his impressive record for completed cases was not something he made up for marketing purposes. Finally, there was Dragon sitting in the dormer with his black cloak wrapped around him, thinking he was so cool with his black hair hanging over his black eyes. It made Spirit sick. However, as much as he couldn't stand the jerk, Dragon **was** part of the team. That means he had to put up with him... for the moment.

45's brown eyes looked up as Spirit sat down in his usual spot. The client chair that had come from the dump, not that the clients ever knew that.

"So what does Kokami want us for now?" Spirit asked when no one had even moved.

Without a word, 45 passed Spirit the letter. At first the letter seemed like a good thing. Kokami had started out by saying, "Good job on mission 867 agents. We were able to help everyone affected by the hypnotic rays and none of them remember anything." Then it went on to mention their next mission.

"As you know the BBC doesn't let setbacks stop them from causing trouble for long. Your next mission is 544, which will be to go infiltrate the bar on 22nd street. Our birdies down in that area have noticed major shipments of bottles being left at the bar. Before you say anything 45, it isn't beer in the bottles or any other sort of alcoholic drinks. According to our sources, the bottles are radioactive. Get in, stop them, and get us some samples before you destroy the place."

Then came the bombshell. "Finally, mission 345 has been given to Team Youki. Good luck and don't die!"

When he finished, the only words he could say were, "What the hell?"


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5-500**

What had started out as a favour and a few more dollars to keep him alive on the streets had turned into a nightmare, Dragon thought. While he watched Spirit read, he tried not to scowl too noticeably because Fox would get on his case. Being on a team with a bunch of losers (excluding... no, including Fox) was not what he had in mind when he had robbed that bank with Fox and Gouki. Food and shelter became annoying babysitting. However, he had to admit, the job had given him a room, three square meals a day, and contacts that beat to hell what he had on the streets. Within a few more missions, he would be granted full pardon for robbing the bank and eventually be paid to do something he had been trying to do for years. But that did not mean he was going to let Spirit World take the mission that should have rightfully been his and give it to the "legendary" professionals, Team Youki.

Team Youki may have ten years of experience on Team Reiki. They might all have driver licenses and a variety of weapons that Team Reiki could only dream of being trusted with. They might even be of legal age to enter the bars without beating up the bouncers like Team Reiki did but that did not mean they deserved mission 345!

Thankfully the rest of his team agreed. Even Spirit.

"They can't do that!" The black haired, brown eyed loud-mouth shouted.

Fox shook his head. "Unfortunately they can. If they feel we are too emotionally attached, they can give the case to anyone. That was why we were given Mission 654 instead of Team Bishonen."

"But we traded them that for mission 267," Spirit said before he frowned. "Think we can get Team Yucky to switch with us?"

Fox sighed. "I doubt it. Doing that got us into more trouble than it was worth and all of Underworld knows that."

"But this is our case!" 45 said as he sat in his chair properly. "It was our case since my friend, Spirit's cousin, and Dragon's sister went missing!"

Fox nodded as he closed his eyes. "That is probably why they gave it to someone else. They probably thought that we were too emotionally invested to be able to make logical, safe, and sane decisions."

"But you make the decisions and you aren't emotionally invested so they should give us the case!"

"I agree but the facts remain. Team Youki have the mission." The man gave a small shudder as his eyes narrowed and, in the light of the setting sun, appeared gold. "But that doesn't mean we can't force them to turn it over," Fox's other side said.

While 45 and Spirit frowned, Dragon started to smirk. He already had a few ideas that he was sure were going to work. As long as the two idiots didn't stop him and Fox didn't change back, the mission will be theirs.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6-600**

When Fox mentioned stealing the mission back, 45 wanted nothing more than to tie both Fox and Dragon to chairs and leave them like that until the level-head Fox was back. Not that his other personality wasn't level-headed. He was. But nothing good had ever come from listening to Fox's other side. Trust 45. He still had scars from when Youko had attacked him during a mission because Fox let a guard down. Cold and ruthless to the core, Youko was almost as bad as the villains of Demon World and the Black Book Club. The only difference was that Fox could direct that ruthlessness for the common good… most of the time… okay not really. Fox spent most of his time trying to keep Youko out of control. However, Youko occasionally slipped pass Fox's mental defences.

This was one of those moments. Thankfully, within moments of Youko's suggestion, the man blinked and shook his head as if warding off a bad memory. Purple eyes scanned the room as if Fox had expected to see bloody bodies on his return to control. When he saw that he had not moved, Fox sighed.

45 couldn't help but sigh as well. It must be hell living with that thing in your head, he thought. Knowing that when you black out you'll probably wake up surrounded by blood was not something anyone wanted. At least Fox knew how to deal with Youko. If 45 had the same problem, he'd probably never wake up again.

Meanwhile Spirit suggested trying to convince Kokami to give them their mission. Dragon shot him down and the two started fighting. For a few moments, the office was filled with shouts of "You want to go Shortie?" and "Ha. You're not worth my time, idiot." And while 45 would have loved to bat ideas around to get mission 345 back, they had a mission to complete. Maybe if they finished it before Team Youki had any headway, the toddler would reassign it. 45 knew he was reaching but he had to hope. If he didn't, it'd be far too easy to listen to Youko. And you never wanted to listen to Youko. Ever! Doing so could get you killed, in jail, accused of everything under the sun, seriously injured, mentally scarred, or carrying baggage for little old ladies who couldn't tell up from down. (Don't ask. You do not want to know.)

However, he let Fox split up the two children while he reached into his desk and pulled out his trusty gun. Without it he was only a punk with unrivalled fighting abilities. With the black handgun, he was one of the most deadly agents of Underworld, Ultra Punk Agent the other boys in the room he loaded the gun with four bullets. He would have put in more but his latest shipment of chaos was late again. When he looked up, Spirit had finished arguing with Dragon and had moved over to the trunk pushed up against the wall. From it, he pulled out a brown whip that he passed to Fox and a wooden sword that he strapped to his belt. Dragon never went anywhere without his metal sword so he didn't need to grab his weapon from its hiding spot in the room.

With quick glance around the room, 45 couldn't help but grin. Even if they didn't have their mission yet, without a doubt they would get it. One way or another. For now they had another mission to worry about and he was ready to introduce yet another bouncer to his fist.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7-700**

The bar on 22nd was a fancy place that screamed socialism. As the boys made their way towards the doors, Spirit could already hear and feel the vibrations from the music being played inside. If his fancy Team Reiki detector watch didn't show reading of high radioactivity, he'd almost think that Kokami had gotten his facts wrong. Beside him, Fox and 45 were also taking in the sights.

45 whistled when they reached the stain glass doors that portrayed a glass of wine surrounded by music notes. "These jerks really know how to decorate," he said.

Fox nodded and pulled at the collar of his maroon shirt so that it flared out, making the boy seem more mature. Of course, Fox was only a year away from being eighteen so he could pass for it as long as the bouncer didn't ask for I.D. 45 and Spirit however had to work at it…. especially 45. Spirit was 6'3" without trying so that helped him look older even though his face wasn't very handsome. With the proper clothes, courtesy of his older sister, he could pass for a twenty-six year old. 45 was shorter and looked as immature as he acted. Why he was the only one allowed a gun was beyond Spirit but he still respected 45. He was the leader of their little group after all.

Spirit glanced through the glass at the meaty bouncer who was glaring at the opposite wall. "They also know how to hire. Look at that guy. Even his muscles have muscles."

45 cracked his knuckles. "He doesn't look that tough. Besides, you know what they say. The bigger they are the harder they fall."

Fox coughed slightly. "I believe you changed that to the bigger they are the harder they punched after the bouncer at Conquering Caesars nearly broke your rib cage."

"Hey! That was a cheat shot and the jerk caught me off guard!"

Fox shook his head. "Just give Dragon enough time to find the samples before you get us kicked out." The boy disappeared through the door before 45 could reply.

Spirit and 45 quickly followed him. They started to walk by the bouncer when he stretched out an arm, effectively blocking their path. "Sorry but this is an invitation only bar." He glared at 45 and Spirit. "You'll have to take your girlfriend to another bar."

Spirit quickly clamped down on Fox's shoulder, ready to bet money that the other boy's eyes had turned gold. While he muttered, "Easy, easy," to Fox, 45 took on the bouncer.

"Look big guy. First, he's obviously a dude. Second, we're on the list so if you want to keep your job, you'd better move it!"

The bouncer glared down at 45, thankfully missing the slight bulge under his arm where his gun was. "Leave now or else, punk."

Five more people entered the bar and Spirit frowned. Just what they needed. An audience who would remember the description of three teenage boys who jumped a bouncer and possibly placed the man in the hospital if 45 had his way. Meanwhile 45 had made a surprisingly reasonable demand. "Just look at your dumb list for Mr. Overlord of Absolute Awesomeness."

The bouncer started to refuse when he noticed the group waiting. Grumbling, the ox turned to his desk. While his back was turned the three boys dashed into the mob. The bouncer shouted at them but thankfully the group behind them had followed them so the bouncer had more targets.

The boys mingled with the crowd for a few minutes before slowly making their way to the door marked 'Employees Only.' When you were looking for something illegal, you always started behind closed doors, the boys always said. Unfortunately, a sassy looking blonde was watching the door. Spirit looked back at Fox and noticed him frown. Although Spirit would never say it to Fox's face, this was mainly the reason why he was on the team. The other three boys were simply unable to hand these sorts of situations delicately enough. So when Fox sighed and made his way to the blonde, Spirit couldn't help but grin. This was going to be amusing.


	9. Chapter 8

**Operation Code 8-800**

Dragon wondered for the thousandth time why he was the one who always got stuck knocking out all the thugs in the backroom. As he picked the lock on the door, he grumbled. He knew why. It was because there was no way that he could pass for anyone over 13. He cursed both his genetics and his lock pick when the stupid door would not unlock. None of the thugs were carrying keys so he had to pick the door. So far he had wasted five minutes with no success. In frustration, he kicked the door. It swung open.

"You're kidding me," Dragon muttered as he walked through the door. It had never been locked! That would explain why the thugs didn't have keys and why they had been standing outside the door talking and smoking.

Behind the door were three guards who were dealt with quickly. Dragon knocked them out, stole their cell phones, and thrown the thugs outside the now locked door.

Inside a single flame-like lamp lit the area. From the light, Dragon could spot four crates against the far wall. He didn't need a stupid watch to tell him what was inside. The cases were glowing a haunting blue and he could feel the radiation surrounding them. He quickly found a crowbar and opened one of the crates. Inside were small stones. Although they were glowing blue, the stones were actually red.

Reaching into his black coat, he pulled out a small box. 45 had made it with the casing of bullets that he had deemed useless. Made completely out of lead, the box was the only thing the boys were trusted with to handle dangerously radioactive chemicals with. (They had destroyed the first box they had been given.) He grabbed a small sample and turned to leave. Now he had to find the rest of the gang. Outside the goons were attacking the door. Obviously they didn't think about going through the front door. Dragon rolled his eyes. They never did.

The other boys still hadn't appeared in the back yet but Dragon didn't feel like waiting. From one of the many pockets in his coat, he pulled out a box of matches. He would have preferred a lighter and made it look like a careless smoker had caused the burning demise he was about to unleash but his still hadn't been replaced.

45 had borrowed it and was leaning against a guard rail lining the street when he fell over and into the street. A car was coming but 45 dodged. Unfortunately he left the lighter. Dragon decided never to lead 45 anything again.

While he was grumbling about his lack of lighter, Dragon noticed a pile of papers dipping into an ashtray. He smirked and lit the match. The flames bit into the papers and devoured them as Dragon added some 'kindling.' While the fire grew, Dragon turned his attention to the front. As tempting as letting the others burn was, he could never abandon his team. (Not that he'd ever call them that.)

He quickly slipped through the door to the front only to crash into two familiar idiots. Apparently the other three had finally gotten their rears in gear. With barely a glance in Spirit's direction, Dragon tossed the box to 45.

"There's no point going back there," Dragon said. "I already took care of everything."

45 groaned. "I thought we agreed I'd get to blow the place up this time."

"You were slow."

Before 45 could reply, Spirit pointed into the crowd behind them. "Speaking of slow, it looks like the bouncer finally found us."

Dragon turned to look but saw nothing. He stood on his tiptoes but still couldn't see over the swarm of bodies. 45 must have spotted the bouncer because he muttered, "Dragon, how long until this place goes up in flames?"

Dragon shrugged. "Three minutes?"

Spirit glared down at him. "Why didn't you tell us sooner!"

"You didn't ask."

45 groaned as he looked away from the approaching bouncer. "So much for a fun time," he said before he walked over to the nearby fire alarm. He pulled the cord and the music stopped as an alarm rang throughout the area. Dancers looked around in confusion before noticing the smoke leaking from the back. Dragon smirked as panic gripped the crowd. Idiots.

They merged into the crowd with ease and were quickly blocks away from the bar. Fox walked up to them as 45 was complaining about not being able to punch even one lousy BBC bodyguard. At first the other boys didn't notice Fox's forced grin but Dragon noticed and while the two idiots talked he turned to Fox.

"Problem?" he asked.

Fox held up a small piece of paper. "I've got a date."


	10. Chapter 9

**Operation Code 9-900**

A week had passed since the successful completion of their mission and Kokami had yet to assign them a new assignment. Fox was grateful for the break. It gave him more time to wonder what he had been thinking when he took the paper with the girl's phone number from the bar. As planned, he had started to make his way to the blonde but before he was able to speak with her, another girl had taken over her job. Not surprised by the sudden switch, he continued his approach. She had noticed him coming towards her and frowned, no doubt expecting some lame pick up line and believing him to be drunk. Instead, he simply asked, if she had seen one of his 'friends' before describing a fictional person who she could not have seen. As expected, she replied that she hadn't seen such a man. Fox had sighed and looked around the bar as if searching for his friend in the masses.

"He had been drinking a lot," he muttered under his breath, knowing that the girl would hear him.

He had expected a look of fear that a man, drunk mostly likely, would be wandering around the establishment and causing trouble while she was working, but the girl just shrugged. "Seems like that's the new trend although I don't see what's so great about getting so drunk you can't see straight."

"Perhaps it's because they don't work at a bar and see the consequences every day."

She held up two fingers. "Twice every day. If I didn't need the money so badly, I wouldn't bother—" She had noticed 45 and Spirit then and told them to get away from the door. The two boys obeyed and she turned back to look at Fox. As she turned back to him, he noticed her small hairclip that was almost invisible in her brown hair. It was a small black clip with the letters "TZDM" written in red ink with the outline of blue flowers underneath. He complimented her on it and she self-consciously brushed some hair behind her ear. Fox continued to speak with her until just before the fire alarm started ringing. Figuring he had given Spirit and 45 enough time, he claimed to continue his search for his friend. It was then that she had given him her number and a second later that the fire alarm went off. He hadn't seen her since.

Fox sighed as he leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. The date had to go perfectly which meant the asking her out part also had to go perfectly if he wanted to get any form of information. He glanced around his room looking for inspiration. When he didn't find any, he searched for some clue as to what was the best course. What one woman loved another would hate so what should he do? He looked around the room once again looking for sudden understanding that would guide him. Pictures of nature scenes, including one of a forest of Pacific dogwood, stared back. Usually these would calm him down but today he was still restless. Heaving a sigh, Fox stood up. The clock on his desk said it was time for dinner and his medication.

Turning off his desk light, Fox left his room and went down the stairs to the kitchen. His mother was there cutting vegetables for dinner. She turned as he entered. Her smile seemed almost forced and he could almost sense her fear of how easily he could change.

"Hello Shuichi," she said. "Your medication is on top of the fridge."

Fox nodded and grabbed the small white bottle. He counted his pills before swallowing them dry and replacing the bottle. They wouldn't help, Fox knew. Nothing could help. Without a word, Fox moved to help make dinner but his mother blocked him.

"Don't worry. I'm almost done. Why don't you go watch TV?"

He nodded as he walked over to the sitting room. Since the night Youko first revealed himself, Fox's mother didn't seem comfortable being alone in the same room with him for long. Of course, that was to be expected when her sweet Shuichi transformed into a horrible Youko. Youko had even gone so far as to attack her. Although there were no physical scars, mental ones remained. Then his mother had gotten sick and he had helped rob a bank. The relationship still hadn't recovered and it probably never would.

"Shuichi," his mother called from the kitchen. "Mr. Hatanka and his son will be coming for dinner tonight."

He heard the unspoken plea of "Please keep yourself under control," and nodded.

"Yes mother," he replied as he tried to focus on the show on TV and not the voice in his head. The ringing of his cell and another at the door provided a welcome distraction. Trusting his mother to get the door, he retreated to the hallway by his room to answer his cell. When he flipped open the phone he found he had received a text from Spirit. It outlined a list of do and don'ts for his date. Fox smiled. It appeared having an older sister was beneficial at times.

Hearing movement at the door and the sound of voices including his mother's talking, Fox pulled the girl's phone number out of his pant pocket and dialled.


	11. Chapter 10

**Operation Code 10-1000**

It wasn't like 45 didn't think Fox could actually get a date. Heck, out of the group, Fox was probably the only one who was able to get a date whenever he wanted. If anyone could charm a girl, it was Fox. 45 had the upmost confidence in the man. However, what surprised him was that Fox was taking the girl to a skate park.

"You sure this is the right place?" 45 asked as he glanced around the area again.

Spirit nodded as he pulled on the strap that held his helmet on. "That's what his text said. Weird place for a date."

Dragon shrugged as he glanced around. "We aren't exactly dealing with normal people."

45 nodded. "Still though. A skate park? Does Fox even know how to use a skateboard?"

"Does it matter? Besides the girl probably wanted a place where no one else would be so she could take him out."

45 nodded as he looked around again. He smirked as he caught sight of a familiar mop of black hair. "Here they come."

It took a few seconds to spot the two as the boys rarely saw Fox in anything other than his navy blue school uniform or clubbing ware. Today, he was sporting a simple white T-shirt and jeans. His date was in similar attire but she filled it out in a way that was far more appealing to 45. He also saw that Fox had somehow learned how to skateboard overnight or the man had hidden talent. He easily handled the railing and the many more attractions of the skate park. His date, on the other hand, out did him with her roller-skates, making it seem like she had been born with them.

As the couple skated closer the other members of Team Reiki started skating and doing tricks, most of which they failed at. 45 had a history of skipping school to go to the skate park but he was usually looking for fights. To say that he knew what he was doing would be a blatant lie. Spirit fared little better and managed to keep his balance before falling down the stairs. Only Dragon seemed to know what he was doing as he rode up and down the sides of the half-pint.

Probably did a few deals here and needed to blend in, 45 thought as he attempted to join Dragon. When the couple had passed them, the boys halted their skateboarding and sat down.

"Something doesn't feel right," Spirit announced.

"Duh," 45 replied. "We're being paid to stalk our friend on a date. Even if she was from the BBC, Fox could handle her. And if he couldn't there's always Youko."

"Quiet," Dragon commanded. "The fool has a point though. The girl is making this too easy."

"We'll maybe Fox is just that good looking."

Dragon shook his head. "She's baiting him."

"Well Fox isn't really interested so he should be okay, right?"

Dragon was silent and Spirit was focused on his job as lookout. If those two were agreeing on something, it would be wise to listen, 45 decided so he kept a good eye out but even the best detectives get distracted. Just outside the skate park was a walking path with benches. Sitting on the bench closest to Fox and his girl were two girls. One had aqua coloured hair tied back with a red ribbon. Her eyes were an unnerving crimson colour. Obviously a hard core anime fan, 45 thought. The other girl appeared normal with her long hair tied into pig tails but when she turned, 45 saw she had blue tattoos around her eyes. The blue stripes stretched down to her jaw and her eyes were sad.

As he was about to look away, 45 noticed something glint on the brown haired girl's pig tail. From his pocket, 45 pulled out his one of his secret spy tools. The Secret Spy Glass. It looked like a monocle but acted like a telescope. Raising it to his eye, he saw that the glint was a hair clip. It was blue with the letters "TZDM" written in black. The other girl had a clip closer to her ribbon. Hers was red with the same letters but in yellow.

45 placed the spyglass back in his pocket and turned to his teammates. "Two Demon World chicks on the bench."

Both Spirit and Dragon glanced over before Spirit asked, "So now what? It's not like we can warn him without letting his girl know."

"If he's any good," Dragon replied. "He already knows."

45 nodded. "Yeah but just case." Before the other two could stop him, he grabbed his skateboard and walked over to the girls.

"Hey ladies," he said with a carefree wave.

The girls stared at him and with an uncomfortable plunge of his stomach, he realized he didn't have a clue what to say next. His plan sorta ended with: "Hey ladies." He prayed the girls would reply and at least try to start some form of conversation.

The girls were still silent.

"Nice day?" 45 tried, knowing it was a very lame try. Oh well. It wasn't as if he was trying to ask one of them out. If he was, this would have been a little more planned out and way more embarrassing. Still, it was very awkward.

Thankfully, Spirit came to the rescue. "Would it kill you to wait for us before you go talk to girls?" Spirit paused as he glanced back at the two girls. He stared for a few seconds and 45 wondered if the girls had hit him with a stun-ray. Everyone was silent as Spirit stared. Then he stepped forward and got down on one knee as his eyes became soft and goofy. Too late, 45 recognized it as the look Spirit had given Shinigami when they had first met.

45 wanted to pinch him. Give me strength, he thought. The idiot has fallen for the enemy.


	12. Chapter 11

**Operation Code 11-1100**

Watching paint dry on a camper in a serviced campsite was more interesting than his current mission. If you could even call it a mission, Dragon decided as he watched the detective and oaf make fools of themselves in front of the two girls on the bench. They seemed to have forgotten that Underworld knew nothing of this mission and probably would punish them later for stepping out of line. That was only if Demon World didn't notice what they were doing first. If Demon World caught even the smallest hint of what they were doing, they would lean on the government and funding for Underworld would be reduced. Again.

At least he assumed that the funding had been reduced at least once. Why else would they be hiring troubled teenagers to take down not one but two multi-billion companies instead of grown men trained in espionage? Especially when they were taking the most troublesome of the troubled teens. 45 and Spirit were punks who would have been headed for the slammer by the time they were thirty. In fact if 45 hadn't jumped in front of that car, they'd probably still be heading there. Fox was a nutcase with a dangerous personality and him? He was probably ranked somewhere with 45 and Spirit. If Demon World and the Black Book Club kept leaning soon they wouldn't be able to take teens either. Eventually Underworld would be disbanded. Dragon would then end up on the streets again. Fighting for his life every day, with no contacts, no source of income, and no leads to the whereabouts of his sister. And then the club would make him vanish. One less fire rat for the city to worry about. The other boys would be harder but within a few months they would be gone and the companies would have no one to stand in their way.

That is why they had to keep as low a profile as possible and not do anything that would make them memorable to the employees of Demon World. Unfortunately, his teammates hasn't even began to think about that before they approached the girls. What did he do to desire this fate? Oh right. He was born. A forbidden child. Although what was so forbidden about a European and a Asian having a child together was beyond him.

Dragon closed his eyes in an attempt to block the thoughts they were coursing through his head. So what if he was forbidden? He was one step closer to finding his sister as long as Fox played his part and the two idiots didn't tip of the companies. And if they screwed up he would go his own way as he had time after time before.

Spirit was now making so much of a fool of himself that Dragon felt embarrassed just watching him. He was gushing about love to the girl with the unusual hair colour as he introduced himself. To make matters worse the fool had used his real name. Did he have no sense of self-preservation!

Thankfully 45 chewed him out for announcing that he was: "Kazuma Kuwabara, the champion of love." Also thankfully, 45 did it in such a way that the two girls did not realize what they really were. This left Dragon to continue the real unofficial mission of watching Fox's back. Although why Fox needed backup for a simple date was beyond Dragon. It wasn't like the girl was going to stab him in the back in board daylight or that he needed coaching. He was the only one out of the boys who had any idea what to say to girls as proven by Idiot A and Idiot B dealing with the two girls on the bench. Speaking of which. Dragon glanced over. Still talking although the girls had yet to say anything.

Dragon rolled his eyes. If they were hoping the silent treatment would get rid of the boys, they were sadly mistaken. If there was one thing the boys did not understand (besides school) it was hints. You could hit them over the head with the hint written in stone and it wouldn't faze them. (For Spirit he meant this figuratively. For 45, literately. That boy had one thick skull.)

The girl with the odd coloured hair giggled at Spirit's shenanigans while the girl with tattoos watched 45. Eventually she opened her mouth.

"So if he's Kuwabara, defender of love, who are you?" she asked.

Dragon felt now was a good time to cut in before they gave away anymore classified information.

"Pork-chop. B-Devil."

45 smiled and waved to the girls as he dragged Spirit away by his collar. "Gotta go," he said.

Once they were out of sight, 45 sighed. "Thanks for the save."

"You wouldn't have needed saving if you had stuck to the plan," Dragon replied. "What were you thinking?"

45 shrugged. "Well I was thinking it would be a good idea to distract the other employees in case they tried to assassinate Fox."

"Assassinate who?"

All three boys jumped at the sudden female voice. Dragon quickly turned around and spotted the speaker. Dressed in a blue sailor school uniform was a girl with blue hair and pink eyes. Shinigami.

"Hello boys," she said with a chipper British accent. "You really need to work on your skills detecting people. I would have killed Dragon and you wouldn't know until it was too late."

Dragon glared at the girl. If he hadn't been distracted by the two idiots, he would have noticed her presence. "What do you want?"

The girl smiled. "To give you another mission of course. What else does a Messenger of Death meet with her team?"

45 rolled his eyes. "When she wants to go to the karaoke bars and her boyfriend, our boss, says no."

Shinigami glared at him. "Well that's a fine thing to say to the girl who is giving you mission #345."

She might as well have dropped a bomb or stabbed him. The group was silent. Spirit's and 45's jaws were on the ground and their eyes were wide as dinner plates. If Fox had been there he probably would have lost that calm face of his and shown his surprise with wide eyes. Dragon stared at the girl as if she had just announced she was in love with him. Mission #345? It was theirs? Seriously? It couldn't be. But she had the envelope in her hands and on it was written "kid." Dragon felt a smirk come to his face. It was theirs. They had their mission.


	13. Chapter 12

**Operation Code 12-1200**

At first Spirit was ecstatic. The mission they had wanted since they had learned of its existence was theirs! Finally they could track down Keiko! They could learn who had kidnapped her and left her family wondering why their little girl! They could learn what had happened to Yukina and Sumire and avenge them! They had the freaking mission!

"But wait," a voice in his head said. "Didn't Team Youki get the mission? Why would they give it up? What's the catch?"

Shinigami nodded as if she had heard his thoughts. "Team Youki refused the mission and since everyone else is busy you get it by default. It looks like you guys have a rep for being a group not to cross."

45 fist-pumped the air. "Yes! I knew beating that drunk up would pay off eventually!"

"Wait," Dragon commanded as his shocked look turned to one of wariness. "What's the catch?"

Shinigami smiled nervously. "Why would there be a catch?"

"There is no such thing as a free lunch."

Spirit nodded in agreement and Shinigami crumbled. "Alright. I wasn't supposed to tell you this by Team Youki never actually was offered the mission. Kokami just wanted you to rest for a little while before giving you the mission."

"So sending us to destroy a bar is his idea of resting?" Spirit asked with a frown.

"Destroying things always seemed to help your stress level," she replied before handing the small envelope to 45. "I have to go now but don't open it until you see Fox and 45." She turned to glare at the boy. "Don't think I don't know when you open it before I say you can." She smiled suddenly. "Good luck boys!" The next second she was gone.

The first thing any of the boys did was for Spirit take the envelope from 45. Why she gave it to him was beyond Spirit. Anyone with half a brain knew he wouldn't listen even if you were his own mother. Then they were left with two options. Wait for Fox's date to be over or call him right away and get him to dump his date. Spirit reached for his cell but halted when he saw that 45 had his out already. Within seconds the call had been completed and the three boys headed back to 45's office/apartment to wait.

In terms of actual minutes, it only took Fox a reasonable amount of time to reach the office. In terms of the fictional minutes that existed only in the boys' minds, Fox took his bloody time just to annoy them. The moment he stepped through the doorway, 45 tore the envelope from Spirit's hand and ripped it open. Everyone crowded around and read over the boy's shoulders.

"Nicely done on mission 544. However next time try something other than a fire. The local authorities are starting to suspect that an arsonist is on the loose. Now your next mission is #345 and I don't think I need to tell you what it entails but I will anyways.

"Three girls have been missing for many years and Underworld has reason to suspect that the Demon World and the Black Book Club are involved. It is only now that the government has allowed us to act, and they will not hesitate to close the case. Your mission, should you chose to accept it (AND YOU'D BETTER!), is to find the girls and remove them from their capturers if possible as soon as possible. Their names are Sumire Akiyama, Yukina Fuyu, and Keiko Yukimura. See file #345 for more information.

"Good luck, Team Reiki."

It was one thing to hear they had gotten the mission. It was another thing entirely to read that they had gotten it. This was proof that couldn't be faked or disproved. They had the mission! But the comment about the government worried him. They all knew that the Black Book Club had the government in their hands so why had they been pushing to hide this mission for so long? And why were they allowing the mission to be opened now?

Fox was the first to return to his normal spot against the wall. "Well it appears that Underworld has some form of trust in us."

Spirit frowned. "Why would you say that?"

"Rather than give this case to a professional team, they gave it to us, even when the government is hoping for an excuse to reclose the case. Either Underworld truly believes in us enough to think that we can completely this mission before the government changes their mind or…"

"Or the government requested that we get the mission so that it could be closed," Dragon finished.

45 nodded as he placed the letter down and pulled out a few more papers from the envelope. "We'll just need to work a little faster than usual." He flipped through the three pages before tossing them to Fox. "Looks like all the information they have is the police reports from the disappearances."

Fox nodded as he passed them over to Spirit. The boy's eyes were calm and sympathetic as Spirit took the papers. Reluctantly, he looked over the coffee and water stained pages whose ink printed words described how the police had tried to find his friend, cousin, and a girl he never knew. A picture of Keiko from when she was little was included, as was one of Sumire. They were both smiling and waving at the camera as two boys were fighting in the background. Spirit couldn't help but smile as he noticed himself to be one of the boys fighting. How long had it been since they had gone missing? Longer than three years. Five? Maybe it was ten? He didn't know anymore. The Keiko's report included the movements of her parents as well as her family's friends. Sumire's was similar and both had the last entry as on January 31st three years after they vanished. Keiko's birthday.

He passed that information on to Dragon who handed it back to 45 without even looking at it. Probably snuck in and read it all already, Spirit thought as he turned his attention to the report for the girl known as Yukina. Her report had even less information than Keiko or Sumire because she didn't have any people to give a statement. One day she was walking down the street with an older man and a woman working for social services noticed her. "It was the eyes of the little girl that caused me to take notice," said the report. "I work with abused children all the time and that little girl was terrified of the man she was with. Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything and when I tried to follow I lost them." On the back of the report was a picture of the girl. Only four years old. Spirit felt his heart stop as he stared at the picture. The colour was faded and it was slightly wrinkled but the eyes that stared into his from the paper. The smile that was on her face. He had seen those before. He knew that girl! And he knew where he had seen her.


	14. Chapter 13

**Operation Code 13-1300**

"Yukina?"

The girl looked around at the sound of her name and saw a hand on her shoulder. She looked upward and saw the worried brown eyes of her friend and, unfortunately, teammate. Yukina tried to smile to reassure her friend but it was difficult to do so in such a horrible place.

"I'm alright, Keiko," she replied in a quiet whisper. They weren't supposed to remember their names from before and if anyone heard them using them, they would be punished.

The brown eyed girl nodded and sat back in her chair while Yukina marvelled over how they both had changed. Ten years they had been in this place. Maybe not the house per say but in this organization.

Yukina had already been in the organization for a month when Keiko arrived. Back then her teal hair had been black and her eyes a calming blue. Today, she still hated looking in the mirror to see those red orbs staring back. Keiko also had changed. Her hair had grown longer and often rebelled against being cut. But the biggest different were the stripe and triangle tattoos that marred the girl's face and arms.

She stroke the arm of her coat as the memories came back. Without looking, Yukina could recall the shape of every scar she had received from the burns that had come from her first 'success.' That was the day the sutras, or so called 'blessed papers' finally reacted against her power. The day that she made the unwanted jump from Yukina, normal girl, to Ice Maiden, Demon World's tool. It was also the day her eyes and hair changed colour and her chances of being rescued vanished. Now that she was a success there was no way Demon World would let her leave.

Weeks later, Keiko joined her fate as the girl took the name Mazoku. Since then they had travelled from town to town carrying out Demon World's bidding. Most of the time it was watching shipments of hiruseki stones, rare radioactive minerals that share the shape of a small spherical gem. A single stone could power a city block for about five year. Many together could power a small doomsday device. Other times the girls were assigned to escort wealthy man who joined the Black Book Club, a notorious organization filled with men whose sadistic appetite was as deep as their pockets. Until now, the girls had never been asked to do anything truly criminal.

However, merely a few weeks ago Demon World's latest operation to test a new device was thwarted. The device was designed to send out radio waves using frequency modulation that would control a human's mind and cause them to develop a taste for destruction, violence, and murder. When the test failed and the device was destroyed by an Underworld Team, Yukina, Keiko, and the leader of their team became assassins. At least, that was what Yukina assumed was going to happen. They had been called to the basement of their house to receive their latest mission. A large screen covered the far wall and three chairs were place before it. Yukina sat in the middle chair with Keiko on her left and the leader on her right.

Yukina looked at their leader to see if the girl had any clue why they had been called. The girl was facing the screen giving Yukina a profile view of the girl's face. With her brown curly hair and deep blue eyes, she could have been considered beautiful but as Yukina's senses told her, the girl was dangerous to get close to. Even as a teammate.

The screen clicked on and the silhouette of a man appeared on the white screen.

"Team Zhu," a computer generated voice said. "A few agents from Underworld are becoming a problem. In our files they are called Agent Seth, Loki, Hercules, and Jimmu. However their real names are Shuichi Minamino, Yusuke Urameshi, Kazuma Kuwabara, and Hiei Wakahisa. Make sure they never interfere again."

As the screen faded to black, Yukina felt her eyes widen. It couldn't be the same boy from yesterday. No real agent would make that mistake… would they? Yukina glanced over at Keiko for opinion and the girl bit her lip, clearly signalling she didn't want to believe it. After they had returned from the skate park, Keiko had mentioned in hushed tones how the two boys reminded her of friends she used to have. If they were the same boys, they would have to kill them.

Once again, Yukina tried to flash Keiko a reassuring smile but she couldn't get her mouth to move. Her own worry was too great. They still had a chance of escaping Demon World as long as they didn't do anything criminal. If they killed those boys, they would never be able to escape and if Demon World went down, so would they.

Yukina found her silent conversation with Keiko interrupted as their leader stood.

"You heard the man," she said. "Let's go see what we can learn about these clowns."

The other two girls rose and followed the girl out of the basement. The house they were living in was a two story with a basement. Two bedrooms were upstairs and Keiko and Yukina had decided to share a room. On the main floor were a kitchen, a washroom, a living room, and a kitchen. All the walls were bare and the kitchen was the only room with any furniture. A table with three chairs and a computer desk that held the only phone in the house, a fax machine, and an ancient computer. The fridge needed restacking, Yukina remembered. She would have to ask the leader for permission to refill it before they ran out.

The girls went to the computer and the leader sat down. While Yukina and Keiko watched over her shoulder as the girl typed in the information necessary for them to access the Demon World Files. Their leader was the only one out of the group who knew any of the codes to access any information they needed. She was also the only one who was able to use the computer, phone, or fax as a special code was needed to be entered to use any of them.

Everything was in code or needed a code Yukina suddenly reflected. One of her first 'lessons' were to learn the codes that were necessary to communicate in the organization. At first she had wondered why they could not simply speak normally. Now she understood that everything was in code so that if Underworld managed to hack into their system they would not know where to look for the information they wanted. She always wondered why Underworld could not trick a Demon World employee into explaining the code but the longer she stayed, the more she understood that a Demon World employee could never betray the organization. The consequences would be too much to handle and they quickly squashed any feelings of morals.

Though the computer was old the pages loaded quickly and the leader typed in some more information. A folder appeared on the screen labelled, "Underworld agents." The leader clicked this and typed in the code names they were given. The boys' files appeared on the screen and they started to read and learn about their enemies. With a sinking heart, Yukina realized she recognized the not so handsome face of Kazuma Kuwabara. As they flipped through the boys' files they also saw pictures of them from when they were children. Keiko nearly made a noise when she saw a picture of Kuwabara and Urameshi playing with a little girl. Yukina reached over and took her hand to comfort her. They both knew these boys and knew what they had to do.


	15. Chapter 14

**Operation Code 14-1400**

Keiko stared at the picture on the screen as the leader scanned though the material looking for weaknesses. A small black haired boy was running from a brown haired girl in a dress. He had the most ridiculous grin on his face and his brown eyes were sparkling in amusement. She'd know that goofy grin anywhere but what was Yusuke going working for Underworld? He wasn't a hero. At least, he wasn't when they were young and carefree. She reminded herself that she had no idea what he was like now with a painful tug at her heart.

The leader clicked something and another picture appeared. This time he was older and while he was smiling, his eyes weren't sparkling as his fist hit a man's face. What was he doing? The question jumped around her skull as she tried to figure out what had happened while she was gone. Just how much had her childhood friend changed? And why?

The leader clicked something else and another file appeared. The photo was taken at a police station and angry eyes stared at the camera under a mop of hair. So this was Agent Jimmu, Keiko thought. He looked a little familiar but not in the way that she had seen him before. More like he looked like someone she knew but it was too hard to see who because the photo was in black and white.

The leader clicked on the last file and all the girls gasped.

"That's the boy from your date," Keiko said as she stared at Shuichi Minamino's yearbook photo.

The girl nodded. "Well that would explain why such a good boy was at the worst bar," she replied. "It also had given me an idea of how to take these boys out."

Keiko and Yukina waited to hear the girl's idea, praying that she wasn't suggesting what they thought she was. When she announced it, Keiko felt her heart sink farther into her stomach.

"Forgive me, Yusuke," she thought.

O*C*1*4

"I'm telling you! Yukina is one of the girls we met at the park!" Spirit shouted at the other boys.

45 shook his head and titled his chair back on two legs. "They don't even have the same hair colour."

"Say what you want! But I know it's her! From the moment I first saw her, our hearts were connected. I'd know her anywhere, even a photo."

"For your sake, I hope it isn't her," Dragon added from his corner of the room.

From his place against the wall, Fox smiled to himself. It appeared that Spirit had forgotten who Yukina was related to. Yet even as he felt amusement at Spirit's actions, he felt an unsettling worry. If the girl at the park was in fact Yukina, why had Demon World allowed her to wander? Why did she look so different? And why didn't she try to leave? His thoughts drifted back to the list of chemicals he had found on a previous mission. What was Demon World up to?

He felt— or rather sensed – Youko pressing against his mental walls and quickly focused his thoughts. Youko pushed for a second before retreating back to his place, wherever that was. Well aware that Youko might try again Fox kept his thoughts under strict control. This time he had been given a warning. Next time he might not be as lucky.

He refocused on the conversation as 45 returned his chair to its designed location with 4 legs on the floor. "Okay so if this girl is Yukina now what? We can't just walk up to her and say 'Hi, I'm an Underworld agent. You wouldn't happen to have been kidnapped and missing for ten years, would you?'"

Fox nodded. "We could but I doubt we'd get the results we want. If Demon World let her wander, they probably had someone tailing her."

"Like that other girl she was with?"

"Exactly."

Spirit frowned and crossed his arms, "Maybe if we separated them somehow…"

Dragon stood up and walked towards the fridge that was hidden behind a false wall. "I doubt they would agree to that. We could always kidnap one of them."

Fox shook his head as Dragon pulled a can of orange juice from the fridge. "Remember Dragon, we are the good guys."

45 nodded. "Plus we do anything stupid and the case will get pulled."

Spirit nodded. "It's too bad we don't have three Foxes. He could just charm them unto going into three separate dates."

Fox's eyes widened. "Or a group date," he said.

"What?" Dragon and Spirit demanded.

45 nodded. "I get it. If we go on a group date, they won't get worried and we can separate them later but I think you missing something. You're the only one who can talk to girls with good results."

Fox sighed. "I suppose I will have to give you and Spirit the crash course again then."

"Why us?"

"Because the girls have already seen you and as I recall, you tried to hit on them."

"Yeah but… Damn," 45 replied. "Fine but I'm not wearing the dummy hat."

Fox smiled. "We'll see."

Two hours later they were no better than when they had started. Fox decided to pray that the girls would appreciate the boys "be me" approach. If Fox was going to be completely honest, he wouldn't even place bets on 45's success. Spirit, however, he had hope for. The boy was honest and was unable to even think about hurting a female. Hopefully the girls would sense that and take pity on him.

Just in case, Fox tried one last time to convince 45 that walking up to a girl and asking her point-blank if she wanted to go on a date with him was a bad idea.

45 rolled his eyes. "If I try small talk, they'll probably think I'm going to mug them."

Fox nodded. "That reminds me. Your gun should remain here."

"Hell no!"

"45, women can sense when a source of danger is near and will be more tense and unwilling to agree to a date if you keep your gun with you."

"If they can sense danger so well, they would never agree to a date anyways."

Fox sighed and started to explain when his cell rang. Turning his back on the other boys, he said, "Hello?"

"Hi," said a familiar female voice. It appeared that the girl from the bar had kept his phone number. It also occurred to Fox that he didn't know her name.

The girl continued to speak. "I was wondering if you had two friends lying around who would like a trip to the amusement park."

"I believe I can find two," Fox replied, knowing his teammates were listening to every word. "Am I correct in assuming that you'll also have two friends joining us?"

"Just my roommates, Keiko and Yukina. So Friday at six?"

Fox's eyes widened at the names. Was it a coincidence? Or something more?

"We'll see you then." He ended the call and turned back to the other boys.

"That was too easy," Dragon announced with a glare.

Fox nodded. It had been too easy and it reeked of being a trap. However, just what sort of trap was it and was it worth braving it to discover the location of two of the missing girls?

He glanced at the two boys who would be joining them and would they be a help? Or a hindrance?

One thing was for certain. If it was a trap, it was an obvious one and the Demon World had made a dangerous mistake. They had made it clear that they knew which team was assigned to the mission to look for Yukina and Keiko. They also made it clear that they knew who was on the group which suggested that Underworld had a leak or worse, a traitor.

In that case, the boys would have to play things very carefully. Behind his mental walls, Fox felt Youko stir before disappearing back into his subconscious. Yes. He would have to be very careful not to fall into the trap. He had no idea what its real gain was but he had a few ideas why and he knew how to find out.

He motioned to 45 and Spirit and continued to teach them. They would all have to be careful.


	16. Chapter 15

**Operation Code 15-1500**

Okay maybe they were going to the best amusement park in the area. May be he didn't have to dress up like a penguin and have to keep his mouth shut out of the certainty that he would say something wrong. May be he wasn't going to pay for all the rides. But that didn't mean that 45 was looking forward to his 'group date' even if he was currently sitting on his bed unable to sleep. He kept running through his head all the tips Fox had given him as well as the limited information they had on the girls.

He just couldn't believe that the girl he and Spirit had seen was Yukina. Her hair and eyes were completely wrong but Spirit was adamant that the girl and Yukina were one in the same. If the dope had said that the other girl and Keiko were the same, 45 would have paused, considered, and then be left wondering if he was right. The girl with the tattoos had been eerily familiar to him. She had the same hair and eyes colour as Keiko but the girl was a complete goody-two-shoes. There was no way Keiko would have willingly gotten a tattoo, let alone one so visible.

45 frowned. There was that word. Willingly. He doubted that Keiko had done anything willingly since she had been kidnapped. Who's to say that the bastards didn't tattoo her to hide her from the cops? Who's to say that they didn't do worse things to her?

The thoughts made 45's blood boil. Learning that his best childhood friend had been kidnapped was bad enough. What was worse was learning that the coppers were doing nothing to find her. Sure they'd all say they'd tried but words were cheap. They'd all tilt their hats at her parents and say, "We're sorry but we don't have any more leads."

What a load of crap! 45's mother (who extorted money and information from a cop) knew right off the bat that Keiko's case had been thrown up on a shelf to be forgotten for all times. A fact 45 later learned during one of his mother's louder drinking rants. Speaking of which...

45 rolled off his bed and walked towards the door of his room. He inched it open and glanced out. A young woman, only 32 years old, with brown hair sat beside a large bottle. She was waving her arms with a paper fan in one hand and shouting at the TV where the news was being read. 45 thought he heard something about dynamite before he closed the door and returned to his bed.

"Three hours and still going strong," he thought.

He still wasn't sure what his drunken excuse for a mother used for dirt on the cop or how she had gotten it but 45 wasn't complaining. It kept his mom busy leaving him to get into street fights, earn a rep for himself, do something that completely undermined that rep, and catch Underworld's eye. So she wasn't the best mom when it came to being sober when he was growing up and she wasn't much of a cook. It only meant that 45 had to learn to look out for himself a little sooner that most kids. He still had a safe apartment and now a thriving business. If had to pick between a life with a sober mom and his drunken one, the drunk won every time and it wasn't because she had killer connections with the Yakuza.

Finally, 45 felt that he could sit in bed no longer. He got up and went to see his mom.

"Yusuke!" his mom shouted with a noticeable slur, suddenly happy and having forgotten her anger towards the TV. Her brown eyes were sparkling though they were dazed and her name "Atsuko" was written on the front of her shirt. 45 recognized it as the shirt his first grade teacher had forced him into making. Atsuko continued to smile as her son came towards her. "Sit down," she commanded. "I'm having a party."

45 rolled his eyes as he sat down beside his mom. He reached for one of the open cases of beer that were acting as a makeshift table for his mom's drinking snacks and a cup of ramen. Atsuko whacked him with her paper fan and he shook his hand in an attempt to stop the stinging.

"What was that for?" 45 demanded, although he knew full well what he had done wrong.

"When you're 18, you can drink," Atsuko announced before she pushed the bottle away from her. She knocked it over in the process and 45 picked it up. He went to put the bottle in the fridge. Once the bottle was safely capped and placed in the fridge, 45 sighed in relief. He would never admit it but he did worry about his mom.

After Keiko had left Atsuko was the only source of guidance he had that didn't try to change him. Sure she wasn't the greatest but it was better than being brainwashed or thrown into the foster care system. The fact that Keiko had been taken away had made him angry but it also made him afraid of losing the last bit of family he had. When he was little, he would try to take the bottle away but Atsuko was stronger than him and always got it back. Eventually 45 learned there was a better way and his fears dimmed. It was better to pretend to try to sneak a drink. Atsuko would then whack him and tell him no and – if she was sober enough – put the bottle away. The day she stopped doing that would be the day 45 would start to worry again.

He paused to make himself some ramen before he returned to the living room. There Atsuko had rediscovered her ramen and was eating it cold. She looked up when he entered and smiled.

"So," she slurred. "I've heard you got a date."

45 nodded as he ate and watched the news guy say something about another bar being destroyed because of a brawl breaking out and damaging a water pipe and causing flooding. There were also reports of snakes slipping around.

"Looks like Team Youki's been busy," 45 thought.

Atsuko didn't notice her boy's thoughts as she whacked him on the back. "That's my boy!" she shouted. "You show those ladies what you're made of."

45 groaned as he found his ramen spilt because of Atsuko's pat on the back. "It's a mission, mom. These girls might know what happened to Keiko."

At once Atsuko's happy disposition vanished. Her eyes narrowed as she gripped the makeshift table. "Be careful, Yusuke."

45 nodded as he finished his ramen. "I know, I know. Girls punch harder than male bodyguards."

Atsuko shook her head. "There's trouble on the streets. Demon World is planning something big and it's not going to be good."

"What sort of thing?"

Atsuko shrugged before a huge smile appeared on her face. "My Yusuke's finally going on a date!" She lunged at him and pulled him into a hug. "My Yusuke's gonna be a man!"

"Damn it, mom!" 45 shouted as he started to struggle. "Let go! You're messing up my hair!"

Ten minutes later, 45 was out of the house and rubbing his throat.

"Well," he thought, "can't go back in there until she sobers up. Might as well go see what Spirit is doing."

It turned out Sprit had been sleeping and was less than impressed to be awaken but he still climbed out of bed to talk to 45 in his backyard.

"Why do you always come annoy me at insane hours when you can't sleep?" Spirit asked as he tossed 45 a can of Coke. They sat down under the tree in Spirit's backyard and started to drink.

"Because I don't know where Dragon stays, Fox's mental status isn't so good when he is sleepy so Youko will try to kill me and you give me free pop?" 45 asked with a grin before he became serious. "Why are you so certain that girl is Yukina?"

Spirit shrugged. "I already told you. It's just a feeling. Sorta like that one made me stop Dragon from saying that code word that would have blown us all up."

"Like a sixth sense in those old movies?"

"Yeah, I guess."

The two were silent for a moment before Spirit spoke again. "What did they do to her?"

45 shrugged. "I don't know but I think we're going to find out tomorrow."

"That's the other thing I don't get. Why would Demon World just let them walk out now? It doesn't make sense."

45 nodded. "Any helpful dreams?" he asked.

Spirit shook his head. "I was just trapped in a blizzard and there was this girl crying. Other than that, nothing. You?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Maybe Fox or Dragon will have something."

45 could only nod.


	17. Chapter 16

**Operation Code 16-1600**

The backyard was silent as Spirit and 45 continued to drink their drinks. The indoor-outdoor carpet that was hanging from the clothes line moved in the slight breeze and Spirit shivered a little. The chill reminded him of his dream. There had been a little bit more to it than he had told 45 but he wanted to keep it to himself until he had figured it out or had time to speak with Fox. Everyone on Team Reiki had odd dreams that sometimes dropped helpful tips but when it came to deciphering them, 45 was far outranked.

On the first mission Team Reiki went on as an official team the boys had broken into what they were told was a drug house used by the Black Book Club. Unfortunately, they had gotten the address wrong and instead crashed a Demon World lab. (Of course they didn't find that out until later.) Because it was their first mission, the boys charged in with more than a little enthusiasm. Dragon easily knocked out the men in the front room while Fox entered through the back and stopped the guards who were running to request backup. While they dealt with the upper level of the house, Spirit and 45 charged into the basement taking out one or two scientists who were rushing upstairs to see what the noise was about. At the bottom of the stairs was a lab filled with chemicals and lab equipment. All the scientists were wearing face masks and goggles. Because they were told it was a drug house, Spirit thought it was just a drug they were making and continued the charge. Of course the scientists started to run and Spirit and 45 had to cut off their escapes.

In the scuffle that resulted in the attempts of the capture of the Demon World employees, a few vials of an unknown drug had fallen and broken. Spirit didn't remember much else after hearing the glasses break and seeing the room fill up with smoke. He awoke in an Underworld hospital a day later. Fox and Dragon were already awake and sitting on beds beside his. 45 was the last to awaken and it was then they had learned they had unwittingly destroyed a lab and been exposed to whatever experimental drug Demon World had been working on.

They still had no clue what they had been subjected to or how it would affect them in the long term. So far the most apparent effect was the dreams that sometimes visited the boys and dropped helpful tips. Some of the more subtle effects were Dragon becoming a pyro, Fox having a harder time controlling Youko, and Spirit developing a keen 'sixth sense'. Only 45 had yet to develop any sort of side effect other than the dreams and even then, he rarely had any. At least that was what he told the others. Spirit wouldn't put it past the boy to hold out on them but until proven otherwise he would believe 45.

"Shouldn't you two be asleep?"

Spirit and 45 looked towards the fence gate to see Fox and Dragon walking towards them.

"Come to join the party?" 45 asked with a grin.

Fox shook his head. "Youko was being restless so I thought I would take a walk. Along the way I ran into Dragon."

The shorter boy nodded. "I had a dream that there was going to be a trap in the Tunnel of Love but when I went to disarm it there was nothing there."

Spirit quickly made a mental note to avoid the ride. Too many times things had gone to Hell when the boys had ignored the hints from their dreams and he'd be damned if he was going to let it happen again.

"I just dreamt about some girl in a blizzard," Spirit added.

"And I've got nothing," 45 concluded.

"The date doesn't start for another fourteen hours," Fox said with a smile, "so I would suggest we all try to get some more rest before then. Hopefully we'll be able to learn more by then."

The other boys nodded at Fox's suggestion and the meeting quickly broke up. Fox and Dragon went on their way and 45 finished his pop before he returned to the street. For a second or two, Spirit sat in his backyard. He half thought he could run and catch up to Fox and ask him for his opinion on the dream but if Youko was being restless it was probably better just to stay where he was. No one wanted to get on Youko's wrong side and if he was being restless it was probably better to avoid Fox all together until Youko calmed down.

Spirit sighed as he continued to drink his pop. He felt for the guy. After all, it was bad enough having that thing in his head but it must be worse when everyone else knows about him too. If Fox hadn't told the boys about Youko, they would have thought that Fox was just a double agent when he randomly attacked 45 on a mission. But they were forewarned (although they took it as a joke) and after that whenever Fox said something about Youko, all the boys— including Dragon – would take precautions. It took guts to admit something was wrong, Spirit decided as he took another sip. If he had been in Fox's shoes, he wasn't sure if he would have ever come clean about having a psycho split-personality. Not if he knew the looks he would be getting.

However, regardless, Fox was still the oldest and smartest member of Team Reiki. If you had a problem, he was the one you went to, but if Youko was causing problems you'd wait which was what Sprit was going to do. He ran through his dream one last time trying to recall any details he had missed so that he could tell Fox about it later.

He had been in a forest and in front of him was a snow-covered cabin. Harsh blue lights like those of a hospital lit up the windows. Yet from the cabin came the soft singing of a young girl. Sometimes the song was interrupted with whimpers.

Spirit stated to walk towards the cabin but the snow rose to his waist and a harsh wind started blowing. Snow was kicked up in his face and the cold wind bit into his flesh. The cabin door opened and a small girl was dragged out by two men in black winter coats. The girl was dressed only in a dirty T-shirt and a skirt. No shoes. He tried to make out her face but the snow falling from above made it impossible. One of the men threw the girl into the snow and she whimpered. The song stopped as the other man pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. The little girl started to run but the snow was too deep. A strong wind started to swirl around her as if protecting her. The man who had thrown her, reached for her and pulled his arm back with an oath. Blood dripped from the tears in his glove staining the white snow red. The little girl was crying and the man with the paper threw it at her. She threw her arms up to protect herself and the paper greedily clung to her arms. Shocks and sparks flew as the little girl screamed and Spirit awoke.

In the backyard alone, Spirit let out a shuttering gasp. Just what had he seen? And what were those men trying to do?

O*C*1*6

Six o'clock couldn't come soon enough, she thought as she slipped on a sexy get up that was sure to distract any man including Agent Seth AKA Shuichi Minamino. Earlier in the day she and her teammates had drawn names out of a hat to determine who would have the honour of killing which meddlesome Underworld agent. She might have helped the results a little but knew that her fellow Demon Worlders wouldn't mind. Those two were too distracted by the fact that they would have to kill someone tonight. As she had hoped she had drawn the name of the boy she was currently seeing. Ice Maiden had picked Agent Hercules (the tall goofy one) while Mazaku had received Agent Loki (the shorter goofy one). That left Agent Jimmu who they could make disappear at any time in any way. His reputation of being a street boy would make things all too easy for the girls' mission. The other boys would be harder, she thought as she put on some lipstick, but do able.

She smiled at her reflection, taking in her appearance. Kazuma and Yusuke hadn't recognized her but she didn't expect them to. When she disappeared her hair was black and straight and her eyes a light blue. Now her hair was brown and slightly curly and her eyes and dark brown. It was amazing what Demon World experiments could do for your appearance. Although considering how her two teammates had the same treatment and turned out rather odd, maybe she was just lucky.

She rubbed a little eye shadow over her eyes and then applied eye liner. She was going to enjoy tonight. In a few short hours she would have truly left her normal human life behind. Very soon she was going to join the ranks of Demon World and be recognized for her achievements. Very soon and all she had to do was destroy the man known as Shuichi Minamino.

**A/N: Chapters are going to be coming out less regularly due to time problems and I often forget which story I'm working on. Reviews are a great reminder. Anyways, I hope you are enjoying the story so far and I'll try to update soon.  
>-D101<strong>


	18. Chapter 17

**Operation Code 17-1700**

Maybe wearing a simple dress with a coat to cover her tattoos wasn't very stylish. Especially when compared to her team's leader who was dressed to kill. Thankfully Yukina was also dressed casually and the fact that she wasn't alone in dressing normally slightly eased Keiko's nerves. However, as they walked to the amusement park, Keiko could feel the knife in her purse shift with her movement. The thought that it would soon be lodged in one of the Underworld agents made her feel like being violently ill. Even if she was ill, though, the leader would still drag her to the date. No matter how she and Yukina looked at it, there was no way to avoid what was to come. Not even the boys' goddess of Luck could save them now.

Above their heads the blinking sign lit up announcing to one and all the park's name. It looked like a put-up job but Keiko's attention was focused on the three boys standing just under the sign. Two of the boys were fighting in a way that made her feel the sharp pain of nostalgia and homesickness. As the girls walked closer she could see the leader's target, Shuichi, trying to break up the fight. He seemed to be having more luck than she ever had when it came to breaking up Kuwabara and Yusuke.

The boys stopped their rough-housing once they had spotted the girls. The leader smiled as she led the girls over.

"Well," she said. "Introductions are probably a good idea." She motioned to Keiko and Yukina and introduced them before giving her name as Shun.

Shuichi then introduced himself and his friends. Both Shuichi and Yusuke used false names. It appeared they knew the rules of the game. Not that it would help them, Keiko thought as the knife bumped against her leg. Was there really no way out for her?

It was decided that they would split into pairs and go on a few rides before meeting up at the Ferris wheel. After that, they would go get something to eat. The leader was paired with Shuichi and Yukina was going with Kuwabara. This left Yusuke and Keiko.

As the group split up, Yusuke made a beeline for the bumper cars before coming to a quick stop as if he remembered some piece of advice.

"So," he said. "What do you want to ride on first?"

She shrugged.

They finally decided on the roller-coaster. Yusuke bought the tickets and they sat down on the ride. As it started to climb, Keiko found herself wondering why she agreed to this ride. She hadn't been on a coaster since she was little and she had hated it. They went too fast and when the car went on the loops and sharp curves, she was sure the car would jump the tracks. As the car reached the top of the hill she felt Yusuke throw his arms over his head.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Try it," he said as the car stated to trip over the edge. "It makes the ride way more fun."

Despite her better judgement, Keiko raised her arms. The car went over the edge. It reached the first turn and Keiko felt it sickeningly tilt. She threw her arms around Yusuke in an attempt to keep herself from screaming. She closed her eyes. Why the hell did she agree to the ride?

Turn after turn, Keiko was sure her death was at the end of the next corner. Although that would solve her moral dilemma she actually wasn't ready to die yet. Finally, the accursed ride came to a stop. Yusuke let his arms return to his side and nudged Keiko.

"It's over," he said.

She peeked out from her hiding spot against his chest and slowly released her death grip on his t-shirt. He was grinning like a fool she used to know as they stepped off the coaster.

"Why'd you agree to it if you hate roller coasters?" he asked.

Keiko glared at him. "Believe it or not but I haven't been on one of these since I was little."

He was laughing now.

Keiko glared at him some more before looking around for a ride that she would enjoy. "How about the Tilt-a-Whirl?"

"The what?"

She pointed to a machine that had four bowl-like items attached to a frame which moved the bowls in a circle like a merry-go-round. People were sitting in the bowls and turning a steering wheel that was cemented in the middle of the bowl. The more you turned the wheel, the faster the bowl spun while it was already going around in a circle.

Yusuke turned green just looking at it. However, he nodded and followed Keiko towards the ride. As they were standing in line, Keiko tried to give him a way out.

"We could go get some food," she offered.

Yusuke shook his head. "I'm fine."

Keiko turned to hide her grin. At least his attempts at trying to hide his discomfort hadn't changed. Unfortunately, it turned out that Yusuke was not fine. After getting off the ride, he stumbled over to the nearest garbage can where he threatened to spill his guts. Finally, he stopped dry heaving and glared at Keiko.

She frowned back at him. "You didn't have to go on the ride, Yoshi," she told him.

Yusuke nodded. "Fine. Now what?"

Keiko sighed. She was supposed to lure him into a false sense of security before ending him. However, as she had noted before, Yusuke had changed. He wasn't as carefree as the child he was before and this Yusuke made the child version look like he was the most uncaring kid in the world. He rarely smiled and then he did, it was more like a sarcastic smirk. She wondered what had caused that change.

*O*C*1*7

Yukina tried to hide her yawn behind her hand as she and Kazuma walked around the park. She had not gotten any sleep the night before the date. Every time she closed her eyes visions of what she was going to do kept flashing before her eyelids. A chill ran down her spine as she thought about it. Beside her, Kazuma suddenly shivered.

"Getting a little cold," he said as he started to remove his jacket. He then placed the jacket on her shoulders causing her to stare at him. "Don't want you catching a cold," he said with a laugh.

She tried to smile back but knew it came out all wrong. She would never catch a cold from the winter air any longer. That pleasure was stolen from her years ago.

Kazuma's grin widened as he looked around at the different games that surrounded them. While he was distracted, Yukina took the time to study him. This was the boy she was going to kill. She clutched the jacket tightly. This nice and caring boy was going to die tonight and she couldn't even guarantee him a quick and painless death. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and carefully avoided looking at Kazuma. Part of her wanted to tell him and warn him but the part of her that was afraid of what Demon World would do kept silent. When she was young they had made it all too clear what would happen if she tried to run or if anyone tried to help her. She could still remember Honda and the pattern the blood made on the walls as the bullets ripped through his body. Soon Kazuma would be joining him in the Land of the Dead.

Yukina found herself pulled from her thoughts as Kazuma grabbed her arm and pulled her into a space between two game booths where the area was dark. Before she could say anything, he placed his hands on her shoulders and stared into her red eyes. He didn't flinch when her red orbs widened and stared into his brown eyes.

"What did they do to you, Yukina?" he asked.

Yukina tried to look anywhere but those frank eyes. She could kill him right there. It would be so easy. No one would see the act. She could scream and pretend that someone had jumped out and attacked them before running off. It would be all too easy. Yet she did not reach out to him nor did she call on the very thing that had given her the name Ice Maiden.

He gripped her shoulders harder. "Demon World, Yukina. What did Demon World do to you? You weren't like this when you went missing."

She bit her lip. "I don't know what you are talking about," she whispered.

Kazuma shook his head. "I can help you. I don't know what they did but I can help you. Yoshi, Yori. We can help you and Keiko."

Yukina shook her head. It was too late for her. Ten years too late.

*O*C*1*7

"So how what do you do in your spare time, Yori?"

Fox glanced around for anything to distract himself from the grip on his arm. When the group had first split up, Shun had placed a death grip on his arm and started to pull him through the park. Since then Youko had refused to lie quietly. Fox gritted his teeth as he mentally braced for Youko's next attack. The other personality mentally pushed against Fox's barriers but was deflected. Fox could feel Youko's anger as the being in his mind circled for another attack. He just hoped he could block Youko and keep Shun busy at the same time without consequences.

*O*C*1*7

Dragon frowned as he leaned against a wall sipping down a slurpee. Spirit had disappeared between the booths with the person the fool was convinced was Yukina. Although Dragon would never outwardly admit it, he agreed with Spirit. Although the hair and eye colour was different, he felt sure it was his twin sister. He winced as he felt a sharp pain in his head and glared at the slurpee. The pain soon vanished and he glanced to where the fool and Yukina were. With luck, they would soon know what those bastards had done to her.


	19. Chapter 18

**Operation Code 18-1800**

The problem with amusement parks? Too many distractions.

45 glared at the surrounding ride as if they were to blame for his inability to confirm this Keiko was **his** Keiko. Every time he opened his mouth to ask her some hopefully helpful question he would either get distracted by a ride, realize that the question could give him away, or she would say something. So verbal confirmation was out which left him with his second choice but if the girl wasn't Keiko or if Keiko didn't remember that… particular habit of his, he'd be lucky to escape without a mark on his rap sheet.

He glanced at his watch. They were due to meet the others in a few minutes. It was now or never. Casually, he steered Keiko to a deserted area of the amusement park.

'Please let this be Keiko,' he prayed as the girl looked around.

"Why did you want to come here, Yoshi?" she asked, breaking up his mental prayers.

"Well…I wanted to tell you something." 45 kicked himself. Yes. That's totally what he wanted to do. He struggled to come up with something to buy time but his mind was already focused on the problem of whether to use plan B or A. Physical or verbal tactics? Sexual harassment charge or possible assumption that he was a nutcase? Why did he always get the difficult cases?

"Well, Yoshi?"

"Uh…" It really was now or never. "I hadn't noticed before, but that's a nice ass you've got there."

The slap it him perfectly on the cheek and the pain stung in a way only Keiko's slaps could. He was sure it was her and then the words escaped her lips.

"Darn it, Yusuke!"

45's eyes widened at the sound of his true name. Her eyes widened as well, as if she hadn't meant to say that. 45 got to his feet. He started to say something when he heard the gunshots.

Instinctually, 45 glanced back the way they had come in an attempt to locate the source of gun play. After handling his handy little gun (which Fox had forced him to leave at home), he knew the difference between the sharp shooter guns used at the fair and the real deal. His gaze hardened when he heard more shots. And it sounded like those guns weren't shooting for any prize less than blood.

He turned to warn Keiko of what was happening only to see a group of three teens walk into the alley behind her. All three were wearing black bandanas with a green serpent on it and carrying hand guns. 45 gritted his teeth and grabbed Keiko's arm. He knew trouble when he say it and fully intended to get Keiko and himself out of danger. If the Serpents were trying to take this turf away from the Scorpions, it was their funeral.

45 started to pull Keiko away from the teens with guns only to curse when he saw that a team of four teens with blue T-shirts covered in a black scorpion design had blocked off the other entrance to the alley. Both sides were carrying guns and he and Keiko were stuck in the middle of it. 45 cursed again. He had no illusions that the punks would hold their fire just because two innocent people would be caught in the crossfire. He saw the guns rise to point at their targets on the other side of the alley. He also saw the door to his left. The first bullet flew by his head as he kicked the door down. The tenth flew by Keiko's head as he dragged her through the door. Behind them were the yelps of pain as the two groups of gang members worked to destroy each other. And to think he had once considered that path.

He and Keiko found themselves in the bumper car building and barely avoided being run over by a crazy eight-year old. Thankfully the guy running the ride hit the kill switch before rushing over to demand what 45 and Keiko were doing.

Before they could answer a Serpent gang member stumbled through the door 45 had just kicked down. The teen crashed into one of the cars and fell to the floor. A pool of blood quickly surrounded him.

The amusement park worker was good, 45 decided as the guy shouted for the whole area to be cleared. The guy kept his head, got the kids out of the ride, and then explained that had just occurred before calling in the incident to his superiors.

'He'd make a good Underworld agent,' 45 thought as he pulled Keiko away from the action.

The moment the worker had announced the shooting parents and teens had gone into a panic. As 45 pushed through the stampede of people, he kept a good grip on Keiko's arm and pulled her after him. It wasn't until they rushed past the sign covered in Hebrew script that was for some desert ride that they were able to run without having to push anyone out of the way. Unfortunately, it was also at that time that Keiko realized that they weren't heading **out** of the park.

"The exit is the other way, Yusuke. Why are we heading towards the shooting?"

45 shook his head as he kept pushing forward. "The shoot is a little left of us so we aren't heading towards it."

"Then why are we going this way?"

"I don't know about you but I actually want to make sure that my team is doing okay!"

Keiko frowned as she ran to keep up with him. "Don't you have radios or something for that?"

"Broke them and they wouldn't hear their cells ringing over the shooting."

"But we don't even know where to meet them."

Before 45 could reply, he noticed the smell of smoke and the orange glow of flames coming from his right.

'Gun firing idiots on the left and fire on the right, Dragon must be amused,' he thought.

"As it just so happens, I'm not."

Keiko let out a small scream as Dragon jumped down from the top of an empty game building to stand in front of 45.

45 let out a sigh. "You can read minds now, Dragon?"

Dragon rolled his eyes. "Whenever fire is present you always make a comment that I must be enjoying myself. I seriously doubt today is any different." The shorter teen winced a little and held a hand against his rib cage. In the light caused from the carnival games and the glow from the growing fire, 45 could see the blood staining the gray clothing.

"You're hurt."

Dragon glared at him. "Brilliant deduction, detective but it's only a scratch."

The lights from the games and rides disappeared as an explosion rocked the area and Keiko held onto 45 as if he was the only stable thing in the world. As his eyes adapted to only having the glow of the growing fire to light, 45 remarked, "Looks like they took out the power lines."

Dragon nodded, his black eyes looking oddly red in the firelight. "Spirit and Fox should be somewhere near the Ferris Wheel. I'll go fine them you—"

"No way. You take Keiko and get out. I'll go find Spirit and Fox."

"What are you two talking about? Who or what is Spirit and Fox?"

The two males' eyes widened when Keiko made her present known. It was stupid of 45 to forget that she was there, especially when she had a death grip on his arm.

Dragon's eyes instantly narrowed. "That's none of your concern."

"Considering how it decides which of you I leave the park with, I think it does."

45 ran a hand through his hair as he tried to figure out how to cover his tracks. It wasn't like he could **tell** Keiko that he was an Underworld agent and that Spirit and Fox were his teammates.

Before he could think of an excuse the sounds of shots ran through the air and Dragon fell to the ground with his hands over his head. 45 and Keiko quickly joined him as bullets flew. Without being told, they started to army crawl towards one of the game booths. As luck would have it, it was the sharp shooter booth. 45 instantly reached for the air rifle and peeked over the edge of the counter. Five guys on each side. Two were already down. Still not very good odds though. 45 held the rifle and used the counter to help support it. He didn't realize that one of the teens had spotted him until the guns were pointing at him. Behind him, he heard Keiko shout his name and then they pulled the trigger. 45 closed his eyes and waited for the bullets to end his life. Behind his closed eyelids a blue light shone through. He opened his eyes just a crack and stared. In front of him was a bullet floating in the air, surrounded by a blue light. Beside that bullet was another one. Slowly 45 realized that the goons were still firing but when they were inches from the booth all the bullets suddenly froze and became bathed in a blue light. He looked over his shoulder to see Keiko standing there with her hands outstretched and sweat on her face.

The goons had paused in their wasting of ammo and instead started to rush the booth. Not wanting to be the welcoming committee, 45 turned and grabbed Keiko's arm. He started to move towards the door where Dragon had just disappeared through but Keiko remained stubbornly stuck to the ground. He told her to move but the girl remained. The goons were inches from the booth. 45 grabbed one of Keiko's outstretched hands. The bullets felt to the ground. The goons climbed over the counter and 45 started to glow. Bullets of light shot from him in every direction. The goons fell to the ground. Their eyes were either open and stunned or closed and jaws slack. Keiko's eyes shut as the girl retreated into unconsciousness and the remains of the booth collapsed around them. Only 45 remained standing as he held Keiko in his arm. From his place behind the booth, Dragon stared at him.

"What just happened?"

45 shook his head. Unsure how to answer he glanced down at the unconscious girl in his arms. What had just happened? Was this other side effect of the failed drug bust or something else? Was Keiko the cause of that light and what had happened to those bullets?

45 frowned as he looked down on the unconscious girl whose face was covered in blue tattoos. Just what had Demon World done?


	20. Chapter 19

**Operation Code 19-1900**

Shots echoed through the air and Spirit glanced over his shoulder in time to see three punks run by with guns. Yukina had seen the teens too because her red eyes were wide. She held her hands to her mouth in terror as yelps of pain shattered the festive mood of the park. Seeing her fear, a protective feeling of duty caused Spirit to grab her arm. Demon World victim, employee, or whatever, he wasn't going to let any gang groupie harm her. Even if it meant the rest of his team would have to carry out the rest of the mission without him.

"Where are we going?"

Spirit paused at the entrance of their hiding spot to look for trouble. From his left he got a bad feeling in his gut. Sorta like when he ate too many slices of pizza after celebrating a mission well done. To the right he got the same feeling but it wasn't as intense. He pulled Yukina out from the booth and led them to the right.

"Out of here," he replied.

"But what about the others?"

"Yoshi and Yori can handle themselves."

"What about you?"

His eyes widened as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Somewhere near him there was danger. His eyes scanned the area looking for signs of gunplay. Nothing but the feeling remained. Very close by was a threat to his and, more importantly, Yukina's safety.

"With you by my side, baby, I can't lose." He scanned the area again. Where was the danger coming from? His eyes widened a bit when the tickle feeling started to lessen. Was the threat moving away from them? Out of the corner of hid eye he saw Yukina remove her hand from inside her purse. Probably checking her cell to see if she could get a signal, Spirit thought. He, like all Underworld agents, knew the amusement park was a dead zone. Checking the area again he pulled Yukina with him using his "sixth sense" to avoid trouble. They were doing just fine until Dragon found them.

Spirit frowned as the familiar shape of Dragon appeared beside him and Yukina as the two rushed towards the exits of the park. His frown grew when Dragon delivered an update on 45 and Keiko.

"What do you mean there was a bright light and then Keiko was passed out and 45 looked confused?"

Dragon glared at him as his black eyes scanned the area for trouble. "Keep your voice down, you moron. Do you want those other idiots to hear you?" The black eyed teen jumped over a barrel in order to remain at their side. "I just came to give you an update and to let you know that Forty- Yus- Oh forget it- 45 is out and to make sure you were on your way out."

Spirit nodded and halted to let Yukina catch her breath in front of the firework booth. He started to ask about Fox when Yukina spoke up.

"Who are you?" She was looking at Dragon like someone does when they see a ghost of some long lost relative.

Spirit watched as Dragon froze. Knowing that he wasn't going to answer Yukina, Spirit said, "He's a friend of ours. He'll get you out of the park while I go look for Yori and Sumire."

There was a look of fear in those deep red eyes. Fear for him? Or fear of Dragon? Spirit placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her. "Don't worry. Dragon growls a lot, but he's a good guy. He'll get you out of here safe and sound and then we'll get you away from Demon World." He pointedly ignored the fiery glare directed at his back and the silent demand of: "How much did you tell her, you moron?"

With a wave, Spirit started to run towards the Tunnel of Love feeling that would be a good place to start looking for Fox.

Bullets peppered the wood of the booths between him and Dragon and Yukina. With a yelp, Spirit ducked down behind a booth and glanced over the top in time to see Dragon hull Yukina behind the booth filled with fireworks. He could see the punks who were firing at the booths but they were too far away for him to do anything. A glint of silver caught his eye and he saw that Dragon had unsheathed his sword. It looked like the midget was going to try to fight gunpowder with steel. Spirit wasn't sure he wanted to place any bets on Dragon's survival rate but then something weird happened. Dragon froze as if he thought better of his plan and Spirit felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up again. The taller teen shivered as the temperature in the area dropped. Looking back towards the punks, Spirit's eyes widened when he noticed the ground in front of them become frost covered in seconds.

One of the punks stepped onto the frost covered ground and yelped as he suddenly slipped. Another started to scream in panic when his feet were unable to move. Looking closer, Spirit realized that the punk's shoes were covered in ice. However, that still left four punks able to move and fire but those were better odds for Dragon than six against one. Speaking of which, Spirit's teammate had started to crawl out from behind the booth. Wishing that he had brought his wooden sword with him, Spirit started to rise from his spot to join in the battle. And that's when the fireworks started. Literally.

Spirit wasn't sure what had happened or how but one second Dragon was crawling to his and Spirit's doom. The next the guy was covered in flames. Flames that effectively lit and set off every piece of firework, cherry bomb, and paper lantern in the booth. Spirit hit the deck and waited for the commotion to die down. When it did, he saw that now most of the surrounding area was on fire. Holding a hand over his mouth, Spirit rushed towards the booth where Dragon and Yukina had been hiding. He expected to see bloody and burned bodies. Instead he found Dragon looking down at an unarmed Yukina who was unconscious at his feet.

Around them the wooden booths continued to burn and the air was becoming filled with smoke. Spirit started to cough as it entered his lungs and he pulled Dragon down to the ground where the air was better. The midget's black eyes seemed almost red in the firelight staring down at the girl.

"What happened?"

Spirit didn't have the answer but he gave one anyways. "What's important is what is happening now. You get Yukina out of here. I'll go find Fox."

A small nod was the reply as the midget placed Yukina on his back. The next second the teen had vanished into the smoke, running towards the exit of the park. Once again, Spirit turned and faced the opposite direction. Four down and two more to go before they would all be safe. It wasn't he started moving that Spirit realized he didn't have a clue what he was doing. He had no idea where Fox even was and there was more danger now. With the new fire caused by the fireworks adding more rage and confusion to the already burning fire and shooting, it would have made more sense to leave with Dragon and Yukina. However, he had a bad feeling whenever he thought about Fox. That usually meant Fox was in trouble or about to be. With 45 already out of the park and Dragon shocked into debatably uselessness, it was up to him.

Spirit paused just outside the Tunnel of Love and looked around. The area was strangely silent. Not even the cracking of flames or the popping of gunfire could be heard here. It was as if someone had pushed the mute button on the world. It was darker here too. The entire area was in the shadow of the Monster Mountain ride whose height even the light of the fire couldn't overcome. There was some light though. The candles at the entrance to the Tunnel of Love ride were still brightly burning. Glancing at them, Spirit had the urge to blow them out. Better that then to have them knocked over and cause a third fire. He stepped towards the candles before jerking back. A shiver ran down his spine as if he had just jumped into a freezing lake head first. Danger was close. Too close. Fox was probably somewhere nearby.

Spirit glanced around the area again. It was here. Something big and deadly. Spirit turned again. He wasn't going to let the thing get him in the back. If it wanted to fight, it would have to do it the old fashion way. Face-to-face. He glanced towards the tunnel again. Dragon had said he had dreamt of a trap inside but did that really mean the danger was inside or outside the ride? Spirit stiffened when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Why did he let Fox talk him into leaving his wooden sword at home?

Movement to his right!

Spirit spun around and tried to see through the gloom.

Nothing.

Something fell with a clatter on his left.

Spirit lunged towards it.

Nothing. Just some knocked over cans for a shooting game.

Something rubbed against his leg.

Spirit jumped back and looked around.

Two green eyes looked up at him. A goofy grin appeared on his face.

"Hey little guy," he said as he looked at the gray cat. "What're you still doing here?"

The cat mewed in reply as Spirit leaned down to pet it. At the same time a knife embedded itself in the wall behind him at the height where his chest had just been. Spirit grabbed the cat and rolled to the safety of the booth. 'And 45 said cats were useless,' Spirit thought with a smirk. Setting the cat down, he cautiously peeked out from the booth. The danger was still here. Waiting. Spirit's smirk faded to a frown. Well he could wait too.

*O*C*2*0*

She was almost there. Soon her mission would be complete. The knife was sharp and the handle was warm in her gasp. He may not have been her target but it wouldn't matter. Soon she will have joined the ranks of Demon World. She ducked around the booth until she was behind the boy. Her hands were shaking. Not in fear but in excitement. Soon. So very soon. His blood would stain the ground and she would be free to serve her masters as she pleased.

The boy continued to foolishly search the area in front of him. He believed himself to be safe. He was going to learn how wrong he was. Her moment had arrived. She leaned in closer and reached for her knife before pausing. No. This fool would die by her energy. A small dagger of pure energy appeared in her hands. She raised it over her head and aimed for his lungs. Tonight she was one of them. Her knife descended. Her moment had arrived!

But there was no blood. There was no pain. The fool had turned and grabbed her wrist and everything went black.


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: I reposted this chapter to inform readers that I won't be able to work on this story at least until November-December of this year. I'm working on another story called Canis and Chiroptera which needs to be completed before November-December. Thus this story has been put on the backburner. I apologize but details explaining why I must do this are on my profile. I hope you understand.  
>-D101<strong>

**Operation Code 20-2000**

Civil law wasn't Fox's strong suit but he had a feeling at least one lawsuit would be filled because of what had happened at the amusement park. Thankfully, that lawsuit would not be directed at Underworld so he and his team had nothing to worry about from the court system. However, they had many other concerns. The most pressing being the three unconscious girls who were asleep in 45's room and a few other interesting changes.

Fox looked up from his novel when he heard 45 shout from the bathroom, "They still aren't coming off!"

Spirit's voice floated up from his makeshift bed on the floor. "Well at least you only got tattoos. I'll have to dye my hair!"

From the pile of black cloth in the dormer came the muffed shout of: "Shut up both of you. At least you don't have red eyes!"

Fox sighed as he placed his book down. So far he had been the only one not to show any odd changes. Although from the headache he was gaining, it would almost be preferable. Seeing the black cloth shift, Fox said, "Enough. This isn't going to help us. 45 come here. We need to plan out our next move."

For a moment the room was silent. Then Fox heard 45 grumble and put something down before he walked into the room. The boy's face was red, most likely from aggressive scrubbing in an attempt to remove the blue tattoos that covered the teens face. Beyond the tattoos and red-rimmed eyes due to lack of sleep, the teen was unchanged. Spirit sat up from his bed and scratched at his head where his black hair had been replaced with copper curly locks. Finally, Dragon's face peeked out from the cocoon of black cloth revealing blood red eyes. When the smallest member of Team Urameshi finally unwrapped himself from the cloth, one could see that his black hair now refused to obey gravity and a white star was located in the hair directly above the boy's forehead.

Many jokes had already been made about Dragon's hair so thankfully Fox did not have to listen to anymore as 45 sat down on the couch beside him. As he had everyone's attention, Fox took a deep breath and made sure Youko was quiet before speaking.

"Our first course of action should be to speak to the girls and learn what we can. Perhaps they know of a way to reverse this or at least tell us what happened."

45 slouched into the couch. "We already know what happened. They were kidnapped by Demon World. Demon World experimented on them. We went on a date with them. Idiots started shooting. Fires started. Girls pass out. We wake up next morning looking like we went to a rave."

Fox pinched the bridge of his nose. Normally, he was infinitely patient but after listening to the other boys complain for over ten hours and having to deal with Youko trying to have his say had fried his last nerve. "You forget, 45. We were also 'experimented' on when we broke into the lab. It is possible that this is a delayed effect of that accident."

Dragon huffed. "Then why are you the only one unchanged."

Fox shrugged. "I said it was possible. I did not say that was what happened. Regardless, it appears we are at a stalemate until the girls wake up."

45 stretched. "Well if that's the case, I say we get some whipped cream and a feather."

Spirit instantly jumped up from the floor and placed himself between 45 and the boy's room. "I don't think so, 45. There is no way you are going to use the old whip cream trick to wake them up."

Jumping over the couch, 45 landed with a fist outstretched. "Oh yeah? You gonna stop me, carrot-top?"

Spirit's face froze into outrage as he shouted. "I'll show you carrot-top, Mr. Tattoo Artist!"

Heaving a sigh, Fox decided it was probably best to let the two fight it out. With luck the loud shouts would wake the girls so they could learn what was going on. Glancing around the room for something to do as his book was becoming boring, Fox was left to sit with his thoughts. Thankfully before he became bored with that as well Dragon spoke up.

"So where were you when the buffoon went looking for you?"

Fox sighed again. The other boys had already traded stories of their night. Apparently 45 had run into the gang members first with Keiko. When Dragon found them, Keiko somehow created a shield that repelled the bullets. However, 45 grabbed her hand and bullets of light suddenly appeared and effectively cut down the gang members. In the process somehow Keiko was knocked unconscious. While 45 removed Keiko from the park, Dragon searched for and found Yukina and Spirit. Apparently, the temperature dropped and ice encased the feet of a few thugs. According to Dragon, Yukina was glowing light blue at that point. When Dragon touched her arm to pull her out of the line of fire, a wall of fire appeared around him. Similar to Keiko, Yukina fell unconscious and Dragon helped her out of the park. Meanwhile, Spirit went in search of Fox. Instead of finding his teammate, Spirit was attacked by Sumire. When he grabbed her wrist, a large stick of glowing light appeared in his other hand and Sumire fell unconscious. Spirit was able to escape the park with the unconscious Sumire and found Fox with the others outside the park. Due to them trying to avoid the cops, Fox had not been able to explain his whereabouts nor had anyone had time to ask.

"I'm afraid I was looking for a quiet spot so that I could concentrate on forcing Youko back into his place," Fox now explained. "For some reason, he decided he wanted to join in the fun when Sumire suggested going on the Tunnel of Love."

Dragon nodded and opened his mouth, no doubt to ask another question, when a shout came from 45's bedroom. All four boys looked towards the doorway to see a disheveled Keiko glaring at 45 and Spirit. Looking at the two boys himself, Fox was unsurprised to see 45 holding the front of Spirit's shirt while Spirit had a grip on 45's hair. Both had a fist pulled back to punch but lowered them when they Yukina joined Keiko in the doorway. Spirit promptly rushed towards the doorway asking Yukina if she was alright while Keiko addressed the remaining males.

"Where are we?"

45 shrugged. "My apartment, where else?" Seeing the confused look on her face, 45 added, "After you disappeared, our old place had a fire so we moved here. Not too bad, huh?"

Her glare softened as the girl looked around. At the same time, Fox noticed a change in appearance. The girl's tattoos were missing on her face although the ones on her arms remained. His eyes narrowed as he glanced at Yukina. The girl's eyes were red but not to the same extent they had been. Now she no longer appeared like a demon with glowing red eyes. Her aqua hair had also darkened in colour to become turquoise. Glancing towards 45 and Dragon he found that Dragon's eyes were the same shade as Yukina's and 45's tattoos matched Keiko's. So it appeared the accident in the Demon World lab was not to blame for this or not completely at least.

A scream appeared from the bedroom causing everyone to look at the door to see the final girl appear. If Fox had not known there was no escape from 45's room due to the clutter he would have thought Sumire had escaped and left some unknown girl in the room. Like Keiko and Yukina, Sumire's appearance had changed. However, hers was a bit more noticeable. Her curly hair was now completely straight and the colour of a moonless night. Her blue eyes scanned the area with a rage lit fire inside them. When her eyes fell on Fox, he felt Youko stir. Closing his eyes, he focused on his other personality and found him circling the corner of the mind he bound the violent personality in. Youko seemed to growl as Fox forced him back but eventually the other personality faded back into their subconscious allowing Fox to return to the world of reality.

He returned just in time to block a knife aimed for his heart. Grabbing Sumire by the wrist, he stood up from the couch and threw her onto it. The knife made a clatter as it hit the floor and fell under the TV set. Dragon appeared at his right hand with his sword, and 45 was on his left with his gun pointed at the girl. Sumire stared at them for a moment before breaking into heartbreaking sobs. Leaving Dragon and 45 to watch her, Fox turned his back to look at Keiko and Yukina. He found the girls staring at Sumire in fear and Spirit standing protectively by Yukina with his back to the girls. He paused to wonder how Spirit was still alive with his lacking of self-preservation but pushed the thought from his mind. He had other worries.

"We have a few questions for you," he started to say when he felt as though he was grabbed by the shoulders and pulled back. Too late, he realized he had let his mental guard down. Now it was Youko's turn to play.

*O*C*2*0*

She wasn't sure what Sumire had been thinking when the girl lunged. If Sumire had really wanted to kill the Underworld agent, it would have made far more sense to wait until the boys weren't looking around with their senses on high alert for danger. If Sumire hadn't really wanted to attack Shuichi, why had she lunged towards him with a knife? What had Sumire wanted? Watching the girl crying on the couch, Keiko felt something like pity. Out of the three of them, Sumire always seemed the most eager to please her masters. It was something Keiko never understood even after the years of brainwashing attempts by Demon World. Keiko had learned, of course, what were the correct things to say and do. She had learned how to hide her emotions from her masters but she had never allowed them to disappear. Deep down, she had kept a hold of her identity because the moment she lost that was the moment she lost everything.

Yukina had also kept strong but Sumire… Keiko had the feeling Sumire had given up her identity long ago but now watching her cry, Keiko wondered if she was wrong. Watching Sumire cry, Keiko had to wonder if those were tears of fear, anger, or relief. Was Sumire fearful of the consequences of failure? Was she angry to have failed? Or was she thankful that Shuichi had been able to disarm her?

Keiko didn't know the girl well enough to say but one thing was for sure. Yukina, Sumire, and she were safe for the moment from Demon World. How long that moment would last was up for debate, especially since Demon World was expecting a message of confirmation from them. For now they were safe from Demon World but that didn't mean they were completely safe. After all, the boys were Underworld agents. Sooner or later, Underworld would find out that they had captured Demon World employees and then she and the other girls would be trapped again. Keiko doubted Yusuke and Kuwabara would tell Underworld but Hiei and Shuichi were unknowns. How much loyalty did they have towards the organization and how closely did the organization watch them.

Her eyes moved from Sumire to Shuichi as the boy turned to face her and Yukina.

"We have a few questions for you," the boy said before he fell silent and Keiko's eyes widened in fear. The boy's eyes had turned gold.


	22. Chapter 21

**Operation Code 21-2100**

It still felt odd to be in this body. Although he had shared it (and he used this term loosely) with the child known as Shuichi for many years, it still felt awkward and clumsy when compared to his original form. However, today he needed to speak with his host. Unfortunately, the child had been able to speak before he took control. Rather than make his host appear like a space cadet, Youko was forced to play the part. Unlike the three other children his host usually associated with, these girls had no knowledge of him and he wanted to keep it that way.

"If you have any weapons, I suggest you remove them," Youko murmured.

The girls remained motionless and Youko's eyes traveled over them. Most of the girls' clothing left no room for a weapon, even a knife, to be hidden. Since their purses were locked in the closet, he did not suggest a pat down.

He began to feel a pulling sensation as though a child was pulling on his pant leg. He envisioned himself kicking the child away. The sensation stopped for a moment before returning more strongly than before. Pausing for a moment to glare at Spirit and order him to not let the girls out of his sight, Youko entered 45's bedroom. Once inside, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be dragged back into the depths of the mind.

When he opened his eyes he found himself surrounded by darkness. Although it was dark, he was well aware of the sounds of Spirit and 45 attempting to speak to the girls. He was well aware of the breeze that drifted into the room through the window and the cracks of the clutter. In fact, he could also 'see' the room when Shuichi opened their eyes although the area around him remained dark.

Now that Shuichi was back in control, Youko attempted to draw him back into their mind so they could speak. This time, he was the child who was kicked back. Youko did not sigh or growl in frustration. Instead he tried again. He envisioned a rope tying around the other presence and drawing the boy in. The 'rope' hit a wall and fell to the ground. It appeared Shuichi had raised his barriers again. _Very well_, Youko thought. He would have to speak with Shuichi when the boy slept next. Since he barely slept last night, the boy was due to collapse soon. Youko could speed up the process if he so desired but he was curious about the girls and the oddity of the changing appearances. He had a theory as to the cause, but without control, he was unable to act on it.

From the corner of Shuichi's mind, Youko reverted to a foxlike form that he was more comfortable in and curled up. He closed his eyes, allowing him to focus more fully on the outside world. Shuichi had left 45's bedroom and rejoined the other boys. Youko frowned when he noticed the girls looking at Shuichi, especially that one with the black hair.

It had been bad timing on his part that he had distracted Shuichi when the girl had attacked him. When he realized the girl's intentions, Youko had quickly retreated and allowed Shuichi to focus on the real world. He knew he would get his second chance. Moments later, Shuichi's guards had been lowered and he had gained control. Unfortunately, the event was wasted and now Youko would have to wait for another opportunity. He had a feeling that without his information the boys would stumble into danger and make it far worse due to their new powers.

Unlike Shuichi who only noticed the external changes, Youko was well aware of the internal changes. He had been intending to inform Shuichi of the changes but the boy stubbornly ignored him except to push him away when he tried to speak. Youko did not blame the boy. He understood partly because he was unable to feel emotions the way the boy did but also partly because he understood the logic behind the boy's actions. Why release a creature that 'appeared' to attack anyone close by?

He attempted to add his two cents but again Shuichi pushed him away. If he were human, Youko would have shrugged his shoulders. Instead, he merely closed his mind to the sensations from the outside world and fell into sleep. He would steal the information from Shuichi's mind later.

*O*C*2*1*

She sensed it before she heard the creature approaching. Yukina avoided looking at the window as she sat on the couch between Keiko and Sumire. She saw Keiko grip the sleeves of her coat tightly as the creature entered their hearing range. She could now hear the creature's wings flapping as it flew closer to the apartment. As it came closer, she could also hear a slight ticking noise and her blood froze in her veins. Demon World knew they had failed and had been captured and they were ready to kill everyone in the apartment block. She swallowed and glanced at Sumire, the only one who could turn the creature away with a muttered code. The girl was staring blankly at the TV which Kuwabara had turned on while they waited for Shuichi. If Sumire was aware of the danger, she gave no sign.

The creature was getting closer and Yukina heard Keiko take a deep breath and hold it. The brown haired girl slowly placed her hands on her lap and Yukina saw her close her eyes. The one called Hiei glanced in Keiko's direction as the girl began to concentrate but Yukina distracted him by asking him for a glass of water. Red eyes stared back at hers and she wondered why he would bother to put on contacts and style his hair after his team had captured them.

Kuwabara had jumped up and rushed to the kitchen area of the apartment to get her a glass of water but Hiei continued to stare at her. She stared back, determined to keep his attention on her and away from Keiko. When she heard Keiko exhale, she looked away and accepted the glass of water from the now copper-haired Kuwabara. She took small sips and then handled the glass back with a smile. He grinned back at her and she felt a small twinge of guilt. These boys had tried to protect them last night and they were going to be repaid with bloodshed. Unless she and Keiko were able to convince the boys to let them leave and draw the creature away. Yukina glanced around the room, taking in the sight of the boys weapons all kept within arm's reach. _They will not listen_, she thought as she glanced in Keiko's direction.

The other girl shook her head slightly and Yukina hid her frown. The creature was still coming and now she could sense more following at a distance. If the creatures arrived, nothing would be left. It was her turn now. She heard Keiko ask for the TV volume to increase. When the one called Yusuke asked why, Keiko replied she was interested in the news about the delegate-general visiting. The boys glanced at each other as if mentally debating on the harm of the action. While they silently spoke with each other, Yukina closed her eyes and also concentrated. The creature and its pack were only five blocks away. She focused on the leading creature and willed a wind of chilled air to fly from her to the creature through the small crafts in the apartment's window frame. She envisioned the creature freezing in midflight and falling to the ground where it shattered into thousands of bloody pieces. Yukina inhaled and exhaled.

The creature paused in its flight for a second before continuing towards the apartment. Yukina opened her eyes and looked at Keiko. She shook her head and saw Keiko bite her lip. Sumire was the only one who could stop the creature now but the girl was still unresponsive. They had no other options left. One block to go before the creatures arrived.

Yukina rose to her feet and felt Keiko mirror her actions. She turned to face Hiei and Shuichi while Keiko faced Yusuke and Kuwabara. The creatures were only after them so they could leave Sumire with the boys. If she ever recovered, she could explain what had happened but that was looking too far into the future. For the moment, Yukian needed to focus on the here and now.

"I'm sorry," she said as the temperature in the room suddenly dropped. She heard the boys curse as they found their legs encased in ice. Behind her, Keiko had raised her arms. A thin wall appeared from the floor and grew until it created a sphere around the girls. The sphere was clear and virtually invisible even to Yukina although when the light hit the wall just right, she could see a shimmer of blue light. The shield was only a precaution, created in case Yusuke should fire his firearm or Fox attempt to use his whip to ensnare them. The girls ran towards the window and Yukina quickly opened it. As predicted, a brown whip flew the air towards Yukina's hand. It hit the clear shield created by Keiko's energy and bounced off.

The girls jumped through the window and Yukina allowed the air in the apartment to return to its normal temperature. The ice which held the boys would take longer to melt giving her and Keiko time enough to draw the bomb creatures away. As Yukina's feet touched the sidewalk, she looked up and saw the creatures flying towards her and Keiko. They appeared with bat-like wings connected to a large eyeball which had a mouth lined with sharp teeth in the middle of the eye. The creatures shrieked when they spotted the girls and fell into a nosedive towards the girls.

Without looking in Keiko's direction, Yukina turned on and ran towards the narrow alley. The shield that had been surrounding her and Keiko disappeared although Yukina could sense the girl running just a few steps behind her. A dumpster appeared in front of them and the girls paused long enough for one of the bomb creatures to breath down their necks before jumping over it. The creature collided with the dumpster with a shriek before the area became a fiery hell. Flames licked at their heels as the girls continued to run, the other bomb creatures following close behind.

The alley opened back onto the street. A car's brake screamed as the two girls lunged out of the alley and onto the road. They disappeared back into the alley before the car stopped but they could hear the female driver cursing them as they struggled to put more distance between them and the bomb creatures. Yukina glanced in Keiko's direction and saw the girl nod towards two alleys. Hearing the bomb creatures gaining, she nodded.

While Keiko took the alley on the left, Yukina took the alley on the right. The area was lined with toppled garbage cans, and Yukina found herself slowed down by the need to jump over each can individually or risk tripping. To her left, she could sense Keiko also being slowed down. They exited the alleys at the same time and ran towards each other. She saw a bomb creature reach out to bite Keiko. They ducked past each other and Keiko raised a sphere around the bombs. Two collided and exploded. The rest were caught in the explosion.

Yukina rose to her feet and saw Keiko staring at the remains of the creatures. She walked towards the brown haired girl and helped her to her feet.

"That is can't be all of them," Keiko muttered. "That was too easy."

Yukina nodded as the girls searched the area for signs of approaching danger. The sky was empty, and if there were more bombs, they were too far out of their senses. For the first time in ten years, the girls were out of Demon World's power. They had no money, no passports, and nowhere to go. Sumire would be back at the apartment but the boys would still be frozen so they could not return to get her. It was too dangerous and Sumire would slow them down. Yukina ignored the twinge of guilt and turned to speak to Keiko. Her eyes widened as a black figure dropped down in front of her and Keiko.

"What do you think you are doing?"


	23. Chapter 22- and Note

**Sorry for the fake out but I seriously need a hand. Right now this story is at a dead end. It can either start following the Yu Yu Hakusho plot in a twisted way or die out and to be honest, I'm leaning towards die out. However, there is an alternative, I can start rewriting this story without the challenge and with a new plot direction. At this late in the game it's too late for the new plot direction due to the build up of material that contradicts it. So this leads me to why I need a hand. I'm not sure if I should just kill the story off, redo it while keeping the same direction for you readers, or redo the story completely. I have a poll up on my profile for you guys to vote since a lot of you don't seem too keen on reviewing. If you have ideas or comments, PM me. DO NOT REVIEW! Reviews are meant for feedback on the story while PMs are for talking and I'm not sure how the Admins would take reviews of this nature so please PM me if you have comments directed towards the direction of this story.**

**Thanks and here's what I have for chapter 22.**

**Operation Code 22-2200**

"We're going to make it, Yukina. We're going to make it," Keiko muttered as they ran.

Her friend struggled to reply but her heavy pants made it difficult. The black cloaked man was still on their tails. He would catch them in a manner of minutes unless they did something to lose him. If he caught them, then it would be over. Demon World would kill them without a second thought or worse, brainwash them like they had the creature that was racing after them. However, Keiko had a plan. The girls were almost at the crowded mall. If they could make it into the crowd, they would lose their tail. They would be safe and, for the first time in ten years, they would be free.

The alley ahead of them widened and Keiko could see the people walking through the parking lot towards the mall. A group of schoolgirls passed the alley, laughing and chatting. If she hadn't been running for her life, Keiko would have felt jealous at the girls' care-free nature. But she was running and Yukina had tripped. Keiko shrieked to a stop as she ran back towards her friend. The black shadow was coming closer. A blade was thrown at the fallen girl but Keiko was ready. She raised her hands in preparation for an energy blast rather than the shield she had been using lately. She raised her hands so that the palms were facing the blade headed for her friend. She inhaled and then released her energy as she exhaled. The blade continued towards Yukina. Nothing flew from her palms. There was no energy blast. Her energy did nothing.

Before Keiko could realize what had happened, the blade had landed. It remained stabbed into the ground and Keiko stood frozen even as Yukina pulled on her arm to get her running again. It took Keiko a second to return to the world and remember Yukina had rolled out of the way before running to Keiko's side.

The shadow was closer now. They had lost precious seconds. They had to run. Keiko turned on her heel and rushed towards the mall with Yukina at her side.

They had to make it. They had to survive. They had to live.

However, even as Keiko ran, she had to wonder. What had happened to her energy? And why hadn't she been able to protect Yukina?


End file.
